Human, canine and equine (Equus caballus) leishmaniasis due to Leishmania braziliensis (= L. braziliensis braziliensis) in the south-west region of São Paulo State, Brazil

The first epidemic of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in Sao Paulo coincided with the start of railway construction in the north-west of the State in 1908; several cases of the disease, known as Bauru ulcer, were described from patients working in the deforestation of areas where sandfly vectors abounded. Natural infections of both slyvatic mammals and phlebotomine sandflies were detected in Sao Paulo and the parasites included species of the Leishmania braziliensis and L. mexicana complexes. Dogs have also been found infected with L. braziliensis and were implicated as a possible domestic reservoir for the maintenance cycle of this parasite in those endemic areas. Here we extend these studies, detecting some more cases of human infection associated with this leishmanial species and the results of research on naturally infected domestic and wild mammal reservoirs of this parasite in the southwest region of Sao Paulo.