Pneumocystis spp. e Histoplasma capsulatum detectados em pulmões de morcegos das regiões Sul e Centro-Oeste do Brasil
Veloso, Silvana Salomão CuryFerreiro, LaertePacheco, Susi MisselSilva, Roberto Renato Pinheiro daSouza, Eunice de ConceiçãoMachado, GustavoWissmann, GustavoSpanamberg, AndréiaSanches, Edna Maria Cavallini
Background: Histoplasma capsulatum and Pneumocystis spp. may cause a host infection through the respiratory airway, mainlyaffecting the pulmonary tissue. These fungal pathogens affect a wide range of mammalian species, including humans and bats.The co-infection of bats with both organisms above has never been studied in Brazil. The aim of the present research was todetect the presence of the H. capsulatum and Pneumocystis spp. in lung samples of bat species from two states of Brazil. For thispurpose, a highly sensitive nested PCR was used with specific molecular markers for each pathogen.Materials, Methods & Results: Two hundred and forty-nine bats were captured between 2007 and 2009 in caves, forests, andurban areas of Mato Grosso (MT) and Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located respectively in the Mid-Western and Southern regions. Thebats were captured following the guidelines of the rabies control manual for herbivores, standardized by the Ministry of the Agriculture. Detection of Pneumocystis spp. DNA was based upon nested PCR, which amplified a portion of the mitochondrial smallsubunit (mtSSU) of the rRNA gene, whereas the H. capsulatum DNA was amplified employing the Hcp 100 locus. Amplificationproducts were sequenced to confirm fungal presence in bat lungs. The amplifications results for H. capsulatum and Pneumocystisspp. were positive in 63 [25.3%, IC95% (20.1%-31.25%)] and 95 [(38,2%, IC95% (32.1%-44.52%)] samples, respectively. Thegreatest occurrence of Histoplasma capsulatum was observed in Desmodus rotundus (20.6%), Tadarida brasiliensis (20.6%),Histiotus velatus (19.0%) and Molossus molossus (11.1%), with the detection in the other species being lower than 7.9%, amongthe 24 studied bat species. For Pneumocystis spp., the detection was higher in Tadarida brasiliensis (23.1%), Desmodus rotundus(18.%), Histiotus velatus (14.7%), and Molossus molossus (11,6%), being lower than 5.3% in the other species. A co-infection...(AU)
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