microorganisms Review A Systematic Review (1990–2021) of Wild Animals Infected with Zoonotic Leishmania Iris Azami-Conesa 1, María Teresa Gómez-Muñoz 1,* and Rafael Alberto Martínez-Díaz 2 1 Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University Complutense of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain;
[email protected] 2 Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Autónoma of Madrid, 28029 Madrid, Spain;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: Leishmaniasis are neglected diseases caused by several species of Leishmania that affect humans and many domestic and wild animals with a worldwide distribution. The objectives of this review are to identify wild animals naturally infected with zoonotic Leishmania species as well as the organs infected, methods employed for detection and percentage of infection. A literature search starting from 1990 was performed following the PRISMA methodology and 161 reports were in- cluded. One hundred and eighty-nine species from ten orders (i.e., Carnivora, Chiroptera, Cingulata, Didelphimorphia, Diprotodontia, Lagomorpha, Eulipotyphla, Pilosa, Primates and Rodentia) were reported to be infected, and a few animals were classified only at the genus level. An exhaustive list of species; diagnostic techniques, including PCR targets; infected organs; number of animals explored and percentage of positives are presented. L. infantum infection was described in 98 wild species and L.(Viania) spp. in 52 wild animals, while L. mexicana, L. amazonensis, L. major and L. tropica Citation: Azami-Conesa, I.; were described in fewer than 32 animals each. During the last decade, intense research revealed new Gómez-Muñoz, M.T.; Martínez-Díaz, hosts within Chiroptera and Lagomorpha.