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This is the first reported case of Bertiella mucronata infection in a black-and-gold howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) in Brazil. The present study confirms the widespread of B. mucronata in South America and suggest that black-and-gold howler monkeys may serve as viable reservoirs for B. mucronata., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

In endemic areas for canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL), the occurrence of coinfection with other pathogens, such as Ehrlichia spp., has been associated with worsening of the clinical condition. The study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of histological changes in the myocardia of dogs naturally infected with Leishmania chagasi with or without coinfection with Ehrlichia spp.. We evaluated paraffin-embedded myocardial sections from 31 dogs, affected by either L. chagasi alone or coinfected with L. chagasi and Ehrlichia spp., to compare the extent and degree of cardiac damage. The blocks were divided into two groups. G1 (dogs infected only by L. chagasi) and G2 (dogs coinfected with L. chagasi and Ehrlichia spp.). The right atrium free wall, right ventricle free wall, left ventricle, and interventricular septum of all groups were evaluated. Cardiac alterations were observed in 41.93% (52/124) of the fragments evaluated and inflammatory infiltrate was the most common pattern found. The G2 group showed a higher incidence of myocarditis, with 61.53% (32/52), compared to the G1 group, in which 20 out of 72 cases (27.7%) exhibited histopathological changes (p <0.05). These findings confirmed that coinfection can potentiate cardiac damage in dogs.

There are several methods of laboratory diagnosis of filarids, the most used are the thick smear and the Knott method. Both are quick to perform, have a low cost and allow observing the presence, quantifying and analyzing the morphological characteristics of microfilariae. Knowing the morphological viability of fixed microfilariae is of practical importance, as it allows the transport of samples to a laboratory, facilitates epidemiological studies , and allows the storage of samples for didactic. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological viability of microfilariae fixed in the refrigerated modified knott test using 2% formalin. To perform the modified Knott technique, 10 samples of microfilaremic dogs aged over 6 months were used. To evaluate the morphological viability time of the microfilariae in the modified Knott concentrate, the evaluations were repeated after intervals of 0, 1, 7, 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, and 304 days. In the present study, we did not verify any difference in the morphology of the microfilariae in any of the analyzed intervals from day 0 to 304 days, and it is possible to conclude that the use of 2% formalin in the modified Knott technique allows the microfilariae to be identified in a period of 304 days. days after processing the sample without changes in its morphology., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interest.