The distributions of amphibians, birds and mammals have underpinned global and local conservation priorities, and have been fundamental to our understanding of the determinants of global ...biodiversity. In contrast, the global distributions of reptiles, representing a third of terrestrial vertebrate diversity, have been unavailable. This prevented the incorporation of reptiles into conservation planning and biased our understanding of the underlying processes governing global vertebrate biodiversity. Here, we present and analyse the global distribution of 10,064 reptile species (99% of extant terrestrial species). We show that richness patterns of the other three tetrapod classes are good spatial surrogates for species richness of all reptiles combined and of snakes, but characterize diversity patterns of lizards and turtles poorly. Hotspots of total and endemic lizard richness overlap very little with those of other taxa. Moreover, existing protected areas, sites of biodiversity significance and global conservation schemes represent birds and mammals better than reptiles. We show that additional conservation actions are needed to effectively protect reptiles, particularly lizards and turtles. Adding reptile knowledge to a global complementarity conservation priority scheme identifies many locations that consequently become important. Notably, investing resources in some of the world's arid, grassland and savannah habitats might be necessary to represent all terrestrial vertebrates efficiently.
Relapsing fever is the most frequent bacterial disease in Africa. Four main vector / pathogen complexes are classically recognized, with the louse Pediculus humanus acting as vector for B. ...recurrentis and the soft ticks Ornithodoros sonrai, O. erraticus and O. moubata acting as vectors for Borrelia crocidurae, B. hispanica and B. duttonii, respectively. Our aim was to investigate the epidemiology of the disease in West, North and Central Africa.
From 2002 to 2012, we conducted field surveys in 17 African countries and in Spain. We investigated the occurrence of Ornithodoros ticks in rodent burrows in 282 study sites. We collected 1,629 small mammals that may act as reservoir for Borrelia infections. Using molecular methods we studied genetic diversity among Ornithodoros ticks and Borrelia infections in ticks and small mammals. Of 9,870 burrows investigated, 1,196 (12.1%) were inhabited by Ornithodoros ticks. In West Africa, the southern and eastern limits of the vectors and Borrelia infections in ticks and small mammals were 13°N and 01°E, respectively. Molecular studies revealed the occurrence of nine different Ornithodoros species, including five species new for science, with six of them harboring Borrelia infections. Only B. crocidurae was found in West Africa and three Borrelia species were identified in North Africa: B. crocidurae, B. hispanica, and B. merionesi.
Borrelia Spirochetes responsible for relapsing fever in humans are highly prevalent both in Ornithodoros ticks and small mammals in North and West Africa but Ornithodoros ticks seem absent south of 13°N and small mammals are not infected in these regions. The number of Ornithodoros species acting as vector of relapsing fever is much higher than previously known.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium malariae have long been reported to be widely distributed in tropical Africa and in other major malaria-endemic areas of the world. However, little is known about the ...burden caused by these two malaria species.
We did a longitudinal study of the inhabitants of Dielmo village, Senegal, between June, 1990, and December, 2010. We monitored the inhabitants for fever during this period and performed quarterly measurements of parasitemia. We analyzed parasitological and clinical data in a random-effect logistic regression model to investigate the relationship between the level of parasitemia and the risk of fever and to establish diagnostic criteria for P. ovale and P. malariae clinical attacks. The prevalence of P. ovale and P. malariae infections in asymptomatic individuals were high during the first years of the project but decreased after 2004 and almost disappeared in 2010 in relation to changes in malaria control policies. The average incidence densities of P. ovale and P. malariae clinical attacks were 0.053 and 0.093 attacks per person per year in children <15 years and 0.024 and 0.009 attacks per person per year in adults ≥ 15 years, respectively. These two malaria species represented together 5.9% of the malaria burden.
P. ovale and P. malariae were a common cause of morbidity in Dielmo villagers until the recent dramatic decrease of malaria that followed the introduction of new malaria control policies. P. ovale and P. malariae may constitute an important cause of morbidity in many areas of tropical Africa.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary Background Substantial reductions in malaria have been reported in several African countries after distribution of insecticide-treated bednets and the use of artemisinin-based combination ...therapies (ACTs). Our aim was to assess the effect of these policies on malaria morbidity, mosquito populations, and asymptomatic infections in a west African rural population. Methods We did a longitudinal study of inhabitants of Dielmo village, Senegal, between January, 2007, and December, 2010. We monitored the inhabitants for fever during this period and we treated malaria attacks with artesunate plus amodiaquine. In July, 2008, we offered longlasting insecticide (deltamethrin)-treated nets (LLINs) to all villagers. We did monthly night collections of mosquitoes during the whole study period, and we assessed asymptomatic carriage from cross-sectional surveys. Our statistical analyses were by negative binomial regression, logistic regression, and binomial or Fisher exact test. Findings There were 464 clinical malaria attacks attributable to Plasmodium falciparum during 17 858 person-months of follow-up. The incidence density of malaria attacks averaged 5·45 (95% CI 4·90–6·05) per 100 person-months between January, 2007, and July, 2008, before the distribution of LLINs. Incidence density decreased to 0·41 (0·29–0·55) between August, 2008, and August, 2010, but increased back to 4·57 (3·54–5·82) between September and December, 2010—ie, 27–30 months after the distribution of LLINs. The rebound of malaria attacks were highest in adults and children aged 10 years or older: 45 (63%) of 71 malaria attacks recorded in 2010 compared with 126 (33%) of 384 in 2007 and 2008 (p<0·0001). 37% of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes were resistant to deltamethrin in 2010, and the prevalence of the Leu1014Phe kdr resistance mutation increased from 8% in 2007 to 48% in 2010 (p=0·0009). Interpretation Increasing pyrethroid resistance of A gambiae and increasing susceptibility of older children and adults, probably due to decreasing immunity, caused the rebound and age shift of malaria morbidity. Strategies to address the problem of insecticide resistance and to mitigate its effects must be urgently defined and implemented. Funding Institut de Recherche pour le Développement and the Pasteur Institute of Dakar.
Pyruvate kinase (PKLR) is a critical erythrocyte enzyme that is required for glycolysis and production of ATP. We have shown that Pklr deficiency in mice reduces the severity (reduced parasitemia, ...increased survival) of blood stage malaria induced by infection with Plasmodium chabaudi AS. Likewise, studies in human erythrocytes infected ex vivo with P. falciparum show that presence of host PK-deficiency alleles reduces infection phenotypes. We have characterized the genetic diversity of the PKLR gene, including haplotype structure and presence of rare coding variants in two populations from malaria endemic areas of Thailand and Senegal. We investigated the effect of PKLR genotypes on rich longitudinal datasets including haematological and malaria-associated phenotypes. A coding and possibly damaging variant (R41Q) was identified in the Thai population with a minor allele frequency of ~4.7%. Arginine 41 (R41) is highly conserved in the pyruvate kinase family and its substitution to Glutamine (R41Q) affects protein stability. Heterozygosity for R41Q is shown to be associated with a significant reduction in the number of attacks with Plasmodium falciparum, while correlating with an increased number of Plasmodium vivax infections. These results strongly suggest that PKLR protein variants may affect the frequency, and the intensity of malaria episodes induced by different Plasmodium parasites in humans living in areas of endemic malaria.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Asymptomatic carriage of P. falciparum is frequent in areas endemic for malaria and individual diagnosis of clinical malaria attacks is still difficult. We investigated the impact of changes in ...malaria endemicity on the diagnostic criteria for malaria attacks in an area of seasonal malaria transmission.
We analyzed the longitudinal data collected over 20 years from a daily survey of all inhabitants of Ndiop, a rural community in central Senegal, in a logistic regression model to investigate the relationship between the level of Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia and the risk of fever, with the aim of determining the best parasitemia thresholds for attributing to malaria a fever episode.
A total of 34,136 observations recorded from July 1993 to December 2013 from 850 individuals aged from 1 day to 87 years were included. P. falciparum asymptomatic carriage declined from 36% to 1% between 1993 and 2013. A total of 9,819 fever episodes were associated with a positive blood film for P. falciparum. Using age-dependent parasitemia thresholds for attributing to malaria a fever episode, we recorded 6,006 malaria attacks during the study period. Parasitemia thresholds seemed to be lower during the low-to-zero transmission season and tended to decrease with changes in control policies. The number of clinical malaria attacks was overestimated for all age groups throughout the study when all fever episodes associated with P. falciparum parasitemia were defined as malaria attacks.
Pyrogenic thresholds are particularly sensitive to changes in malaria epidemiology and are therefore an interesting tool to accurately assess the burden of malaria in the context of declining transmission.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Q fever is a highly infectious disease with a worldwide distribution. Its causative agent, the intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii, infects a variety of vertebrate species, including humans. ...Its evolutionary origin remains almost entirely unknown and uncertainty persists regarding the identity and lifestyle of its ancestors. A few tick species were recently found to harbor maternally-inherited Coxiella-like organisms engaged in symbiotic interactions, but their relationships to the Q fever pathogen remain unclear. Here, we extensively sampled ticks, identifying new and atypical Coxiella strains from 40 of 58 examined species, and used this data to infer the evolutionary processes leading to the emergence of C. burnetii. Phylogenetic analyses of multi-locus typing and whole-genome sequencing data revealed that Coxiella-like organisms represent an ancient and monophyletic group allied to ticks. Remarkably, all known C. burnetii strains originate within this group and are the descendants of a Coxiella-like progenitor hosted by ticks. Using both colony-reared and field-collected gravid females, we further establish the presence of highly efficient maternal transmission of these Coxiella-like organisms in four examined tick species, a pattern coherent with an endosymbiotic lifestyle. Our laboratory culture assays also showed that these Coxiella-like organisms were not amenable to culture in the vertebrate cell environment, suggesting different metabolic requirements compared to C. burnetii. Altogether, this corpus of data demonstrates that C. burnetii recently evolved from an inherited symbiont of ticks which succeeded in infecting vertebrate cells, likely by the acquisition of novel virulence factors.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
During November 2008-July 2009, we investigated the origin of unknown fever in Senegalese patients with a negative malaria test result, focusing on potential rickettsial infection. Using molecular ...tools, we found evidence for Rickettsia felis-associated illness in the initial days of infection in febrile Senegalese patients without malaria.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Malaria transmission intensity is highly heterogeneous even at a very small scale. Implementing targeted intervention in malaria transmission hotspots offers the potential to reduce the burden of ...disease both locally and in adjacent areas. Transmission of malaria parasites from man to mosquito requires the production of gametocyte stage parasites. Cluster analysis of a 19-year long cohort study for gametocyte carriage revealed spatially defined gametocyte hotspots that occurred during the time when chloroquine was the drug used for clinical case treatment. In addition to known risk factors for gametocyte carriage, notably young age (<15 years old) and associated with a clinical episode, blood groups B and O increased risk compared to groups A and AB. A hotspot of clinical P. falciparum clinical episodes that overlapped the gametocyte hotspots was also identified. Gametocyte positivity was found to be increased in individuals who had been treated with chloroquine, as opposed to other drug treatment regimens, for a clinical P. falciparum episode up to 30 days previously. It seems likely the hotspots were generated by a vicious circle of ineffective treatment of clinical cases and concomitant gametocyte production in a sub-population characterized by an increased prevalence of all the identified risk factors. While rapid access to treatment with an effective anti-malarial can reduce the duration of gametocyte carriage and onward parasite transmission, localised hotspots represent a challenge to malaria control and eventual eradication.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Aim: To map and assess the richness patterns of reptiles (and included groups: amphisbaenians, crocodiles, lizards, snakes and turtles) in Africa, quantify the overlap in species richness of reptiles ...(and included groups) with the other terrestrial vertebrate classes, investigate the environmental correlates underlying these patterns, and evaluate the role of range size on richness patterns. Location: Africa. Methods: We assembled a data set of distributions of all African reptile species. We tested the spatial congruence of reptile richness with that of amphibians, birds and mammals. We further tested the relative importance of temperature, precipitation, elevation range and net primary productivity for species richness over two spatial scales (ecoregions and 1° grids). We arranged reptile and vertebrate groups into range-size quartiles in order to evaluate the role of range size in producing richness patterns. Results: Reptile, amphibian, bird and mammal richness are largely congruent (r = 0.79–0.86) and respond similarly to environmental variables (mainly productivity and precipitation). Ecoregion size accounts for more variation in the richness of reptiles than in that of other groups. Lizard distributions are distinct with several areas of high species richness where other vertebrate groups (including snakes) are species-poor, especially in arid ecoregions. Habitat heterogeneity is the best predictor of narrow-ranging species, but remains relatively important in explaining lizard richness even for species with large range sizes. Main conclusions: Reptile richness varies with similar environmental variables as the other vertebrates in Africa, reflecting the disproportionate influence of snakes on reptile richness, a result of their large ranges. Richness gradients of narrow-ranged vertebrates differ from those of widespread taxa, which may demonstrate different centres of endemism for reptile subclades in Africa. Lizard richness varies mostly with habitat heterogeneity independent of range size, which suggests that the difference in response of lizards is due to their ecological characteristics. These results, over two spatial scales and multiple range-size quartiles, allow us to reliably interpret the influence of environmental variables on patterns of reptile richness and congruency.
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