RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Leeches have gained a fearsome reputation by feeding externally on blood, often from human hosts. Orificial hirudiniasis is a condition in which a leech enters a body orifice, most often the nasopharyngeal region, but there are many cases of leeches infesting the eyes, urethra, vagina, or rectum. Several leech species particularly in Africa and Asia are well-known for their propensity to afflict humans. Because there has not previously been any data suggesting a close relationship for such geographically disparate species, this unnerving tendency to be invasive has been regarded only as a loathsome oddity and not a unifying character for a group of related organisms. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A new genus and species of leech from Perú was found feeding from the nasopharynx of humans. Unlike any other leech previously described, this new taxon has but a single jaw with very large teeth. Phylogenetic analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial genes using parsimony and Bayesian inference demonstrate that the new species belongs among a larger, global clade of leeches, all of which feed from the mucosal surfaces of mammals. CONCLUSIONS: This new species, found feeding from the upper respiratory tract of humans in Perú, clarifies an expansion of the family Praobdellidae to include the new species Tyrannobdella rex n. gen. n. sp., along with others in the genera Dinobdella, Myxobdella, Praobdella and Pintobdella. Moreover, the results clarify a single evolutionary origin of a group of leeches that specializes on mucous membranes, thus, posing a distinct threat to human health.
Assuntos
Sanguessugas/patogenicidade , Mucosa/parasitologia , Nariz/parasitologia , Doenças Parasitárias/parasitologia , Animais , Evolução Biológica , Classificação , DNA Mitocondrial , Humanos , Sanguessugas/anatomia & histologia , Sanguessugas/classificação , Sanguessugas/genética , Peru , Filogenia , Análise de Sequência de DNARESUMO
Exposición del historial clínico de un caso de tripanosomiasis americana aguda (enfermedad de Chagas) en un hombre sano de 47 años, evidenciada por fiebre prolongada, irregular e intermitente asociada a astenia, que contrajo la parasitosis a través de la aplicación de sanguijuelas medicinales (Hirudo medicinalis) realizada por un curandero (bajo el pretexto de "absorción de toxinas de la sangre"). La curación fue obtenida mediante la infusión venosa de anfotericina B. La observación surgió por existir antecedentes experimentales de que las sanguijuelas pueden ser trasmisoras de infecciones y de parasitismos
Assuntos
Humanos , Masculino , Adulto , Anfotericina B , Doença de Chagas/terapia , Doença de Chagas/transmissão , Sanguessugas/patogenicidade , Charlatanismo , Trypanosoma cruziRESUMO
Exposición del historial clínico de un caso de tripanosomiasis americana aguda (enfermedad de Chagas) en un hombre sano de 47 años, evidenciada por fiebre prolongada, irregular e intermitente asociada a astenia, que contrajo la parasitosis a través de la aplicación de sanguijuelas medicinales (Hirudo medicinalis) realizada por un curandero (bajo el pretexto de "absorción de toxinas de la sangre"). La curación fue obtenida mediante la infusión venosa de anfotericina B. La observación surgió por existir antecedentes experimentales de que las sanguijuelas pueden ser trasmisoras de infecciones y de parasitismos (AU)