Hematological and Biochemical Outcomes of Leishmania Infantum Infection in the South American Coati (Nasua nasua) in an Endemic Area of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Central Western Brazil.

PURPOSE: Wildlife is a major source of infectious diseases affecting humans and domestic animals; however, the impacts of parasitism on naturally parasitized fauna remain largely unknown. In this study, we evaluated the outcomes of Leishmania infantum infection in blood parameters of South American coatis (Nasua nasua) in an area endemic for leishmaniasis in the Brazilian Midwest region. METHODS: In total, 128 blood samples were obtained from 77 adult South American coatis. Health status was inferred from hematological and biochemical parameters categorized into the following indicators: red blood cell count, coagulation, immune response (IMRI), infection response, kidney damage, liver damage (LDI), cardiac damage, skeletal muscle damage (SMDI), nutritional profile (NPI), and protein profile (PPI). We compared the hematological and biochemical parameters of seropositive, DNA detection and negative groups using ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests, and assessed the direct effects of L. infantum on health indicators and body condition (BC) through path analysis. RESULTS: Our findings showed that L. infantum infection affected LDI, IMRI, PPI and NPI but had no negative impact on BC. However, BC was influenced by SMDI, IMRI, NPI and KDI regardless of parasitism. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that L. infantum may cause long-lasting subclinical infections associated with alterations in liver function, immune response, and protein and nutritional profiles of coatis living in urban areas of the Brazilian Midwest. We highlight the importance of monitoring the impact of L. infantum infections on wild mammals in leishmaniasis-endemic areas.