American visceral leishmaniasis in an ecotourism area

Abstract

Visceral Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease that represents one of the most important public health problems in the world. This neglected tropical zoonosis shows an increasing urbanization process, since the end of the 1980s. The increase in ecotourism practices, mainly in regions nearby urban areas facilitates the interaction between companion animals, humans, and wildlife. Known as the land of the waterfalls, Carrancas is a 728 km² Brazilian municipality located at 1052m, in the southeast of Brazil. The region is surrounded by urban areas with autochthonous cases of Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis and lacking studies on the presence of vectors of Leishmania spp. The municipality is part of the most important ecotourism area, a renowned tourist destination in Brazil and abroad called Royal Road or “Estrada Real –ER. Due to the increasing number of travelers involved in ecotourism and exposing them to risk factors for diseases, we propose to investigate the presence of phlebotomine sandflies in a protected area in the southern state of Minas Gerais, which is constantly visited by tourists over the world. Six specimens of Lutzomyia longipalpis were captured in Carrancas. This is the first report of L. longipalpis in an ecotourism area south of Minas Gerais State. This record contributes to our knowledge of the geographical distribution of the main vector of American Visceral Leishmaniasis in Carrancas and alerts us to the need for permanent surveillance and health education at this location.