ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The study aimed to characterize patients with leprosy admitted to Fontilles throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, focusing on differences across three periods (I, II, and III). It also explored variables linked to patient survival. METHODS: This was a retrospective descriptive study analyzing the medical records of Fontilles patients from 1909 to 2020. It assessed 26 clinical, sociodemographic, and temporal variables (n = 2652). RESULTS: Most patients were male, single, multibacillary (MB), and farmers, from Andalusia and the Valencian Community. The origin of patients shifted over time towards being mostly foreign-born in period III. More than a half were previously admitted and had family members with leprosy. While leprosy reactions decreased over time, neurological symptoms were increasingly diagnosed. The age at onset, admission, and death increased progressively over time. The survival of patients with leprosy at Fontilles depended on the age at admission and the period. CONCLUSIONS: Improved knowledge, services, and awareness regarding leprosy led to increased age at onset and more favorable outcomes. The prolonged time between symptom onset and diagnosis indicates that leprosy is still a neglected disease. Although MB forms are more severe, leprosy classification did not significantly impact the survival rates of patients at Fontilles.
ABSTRACT
This study reports a molecular survey of Hepatozoon species and of the order Piroplasmida in the Province of Burgos, northern Spain. The diagnostic techniques employed included PCR and the sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene. Eighty-nine blood samples from domestic animals plus 138 blood/coagulated blood samples from wild mammals were examined. Theilerid protozoa were found at relatively high frequencies in bovines (14.6%) and horses (36%). Theileria buffeli, T. sergenti and T. annulata were diagnosed in cows. T. equi was common in horses and T. annae was found in a donkey for the first time. A new piroplasmid was found in the European badger (20%). This appears to be distantly related to both T. annae and a piroplasmid isolated from Lontra canadensis. A moderate prevalence (14%) for T. annae was recorded in red foxes. A species of hepatozoon was found in one bank vole (17%), while 28% of the red foxes examined were found to be infected with H. canis. Twenty-five wild house mice were studied and found not to be carriers of piroplasmids or Hepatozoon species. Wild boars, roe deer, hares, Apodemus sp. and moles were also negative for haematozoan infection. The present study indicates that piroplasmid protozoa are present at a low to moderate frequency in some domestic herbivores in the Burgos area. They also infect certain wild mammalian species, which may act as zoonotic carriers.
