Vertical transmission of Leishmania infantum was demonstrated in domestic mice captured close to the home of a patient with leishmaniasis. Leishmania infantum DNA was detected in 88.9% of synanthropic Mus musculus adult rodents and 29.2% of their unborn foetuses. Mother-to-infant transmission was observed in all females whose gestational stage was sufficiently advanced to allow foetal analysis (foetal length 2-2.5 cm). The infection rate in foetal samples ranged from 11.1% to 50.0%, with parasite loads of up to 6,481 parasites/5 mg tissue. A low density of Phlebotomus perniciosus was also found (0.2 specimen/CDC trap). Six infected mice captured in March were only 1.5 months old and could thus not have had contact with the vector. Vertical transmission thus appears to play a greater role in the spread of leishmaniasis than previously thought, particularly since rodents are natural hosts for the parasite and are prolific in nature.

中文翻译：

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在先天性小家鼠啮齿动物中，垂直传播可能在婴儿利什曼原虫的传播中发挥更大的作用。

在靠近利什曼病患者家中捕获的家养小鼠中证实了婴儿利什曼原虫的垂直传播。在88.9％的小肌肉鼠成年啮齿动物和其未出生的胎儿中检出29.2％的婴儿利什曼原虫DNA。在所有妊娠期已足够进行胎儿分析（胎儿长度2-2.5厘米）的女性中均观察到母婴传播。胎儿样品中的感染率在11.1％至50.0％的范围内，其中寄生虫负荷高达6481个寄生虫/ 5 mg组织。还发现了密度较低的百日咳吸虫（0.2个标本/ CDC捕集阱）。三月份捕获的六只感染小鼠仅1.5个月大，因此可能与该载体没有接触。因此，垂直传播似乎在利什曼病的传播中发挥了比以前认为的更大的作用，