Amazon Sand Flies: New Bacteria & Human Risk
- A new species of bacteria of the genus Bartonella has been found in the Amazon National Park in the state of Pará, Brazil, in phlebotomine insects, also known...
- There is currently no evidence in Brazil that this new species of bacteria can cause disease.
- The research was conducted by Marcos Rogério André in partnership with Eunice Aparecida Bianchi Galati.
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A new species of bacteria of the genus Bartonella has been found in the Amazon National Park in the state of Pará, Brazil, in phlebotomine insects, also known as sand flies. This type of insect is generally associated with transmitting leishmaniasis, but according to the researchers, the DNA of the newly discovered microorganism is similar to that of two other Andean species of bacteria, B. bacilliformis and B. ancashensis.These bacteria cause Carrión’s disease (also known as Peruvian wart and Oroya fever) and are both transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies.
There is currently no evidence in Brazil that this new species of bacteria can cause disease. However, since species of the genus Bartonella are responsible for several diseases in other countries, further studies are needed.
The research was conducted by Marcos Rogério André in partnership with Eunice Aparecida Bianchi Galati. Both researchers are affiliated with Brazilian institutions: the Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences of São Paulo State University (FCAV-UNESP) in Jaboticabal campus and the School of Public Health of the University of São Paulo (FSP-USP). The study was supported by FAPESP through two projects (22/08543-2 and 22/16085-4).
It was published in the scientific journal Acta Tropica and included the participation of Researchers Paulo Vitor Cadina arantes, Israel de Souza Pinto, daniel Antônio Braga Lee, Anna Claudia Baumel Mongruel, and Rosângela Zacarias Machado.
What is the disease?
bartonellosis is a term that refers to a group of diseases caused by bacteria of the genus Bartonella.These bacteria are transmitted by various vectors. In addition to sand flies, they can be transmitted by fleas and lice.
Symptoms usually include infections that take a long time to clear up in both humans and animals. These bacteria can remain in the body for a long time without being detected and end up harming patients with preexisting immune problems.
“Bartonellosis is a neglected disease. The disease best known to health professionals is cat scratch disease, caused by Bartonella henselae. it’s significant to understand the real prevalence of these diseases, especially in isolated regions with low human development indices, where populations don’t have easy access to health services,” explains André.
The objective of the study was to investigate the presence of Bartonella spp. DNA in 297 specimens of female sand flies (diptera: Psychodidae) collected in the Amazon National Park in the state of pará.”This park has caves and receives many visitors, so it’s important to study it,” says the researcher.
The phlebotomine sand flies were collected between February 2022 and February 2023.Every month,