Abstract
This paper reports the results of serological tests for the detection of antibodies against Leishmania spp. in Abruzzo and Molise regions from 2009 to 2014, with the aim of evaluating the presence and distribution of canine leishmaniasis. Data were extracted from the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Abruzzo and Molise, and then the dog identification numbers were matched with those stored in the Canine Registries of the two regions to get information about the age of dogs at time of testing. Dogs were considered positive when having an IFAT (Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test) titer ≥1:80. In total, 41,631 dogs were tested, 85.3% from Abruzzo and 14.7% from Molise. At the provincial level, the percentage of positive dogs ranged from 5.2% (L’Aquila, Abruzzo region) to 21.8% (Campobasso, Molise region). Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that in the coastal areas, the relationships between the host, the vector, and the agent are more favorable for the spreading of CanL, and it seems that densely populated urban internal areas have less favorable conditions. Being a dog hosted in a kennel seems not to be a factor increasing the probability that dogs show positivity, even in long-term sheltering conditions.
Highlights
Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania (Kinetoplastida, Trypanosomatidae) transmitted by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies of the genera Phlebotomus
The disease is produced by the invasion of Leishmania spp. into the mononuclear phagocyte system of mammalian hosts and includes a group of neglected diseases that are prevalent in at least 98 countries and three territories on five continents, of which the majority are in developing countries [3,4]
The aim of this paper is to report on the serological results in kennel and owned dogs tested for the detection of Canine leishmaniasis (CanL) over a six-year period (2009–2014) in Abruzzo and Molise regions of Central Italy
Summary
Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania (Kinetoplastida, Trypanosomatidae) transmitted by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies of the genera Phlebotomus. About 70 species of mammals, including humans, are considered vertebrate hosts of different species of Leishmania spp. around the world, and some of them are reservoirs of the parasite in nature [1]. The protozoan can cause a wide variety of clinical forms ranging in severity from self-healing cutaneous leishmaniasis to fatal disseminated visceral leishmaniasis [2]. Recent estimates about human leishmaniasis incidence include 12 million of people, with a ratio of 0.2–0.4 million and 0.7–1.2 million in visceral (VL) and cutaneous (CL) cases respectively, in 101 endemic countries [5,6,7]
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