Abstract
BackgroundWe compared skin biopsy samples from different anatomical regions for detecting Leishmania in dogs, using histological (HE), immunohistochemical (IHC) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques.ResultsThe sensitivity was 82.8 percent for PCR, 62.1 percent for IHC and 44.8 percent for HE. These methods do not appear to depend on the clinical status of the animal or the anatomical source of the skin sample; there is no "best region" for any method. However, PCR was more effective than IHC and HE for ear and nose skin samples whereas IHC was better than HE for nose samples. There was weak agreement between PCR and HE for all tissue samples; good agreement between PCR and IHC for ear and abdomen samples, and weak agreement for nose; and optimal agreement between IHC and HE for ear and abdomen and good agreement for nose samples.ConclusionThe PCR on ear skin could be the best procedure for diagnosing canine visceral leishmaniasis. The good agreement between PCR and IHC indicates that IHC can be used as an alternative method. Finally, tissue samples from ears, nose and abdomen, particularly ears and nose, are potentially useful for diagnosing canine visceral leishmaniasis independently of the animal's clinical status.
Highlights
We compared skin biopsy samples from different anatomical regions for detecting Leishmania in dogs, using histological (HE), immunohistochemical (IHC) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques
Skin samples showed a chronic inflammatory reaction irrespective of anatomical region, but this reaction varied with the animal's clinical status
Parasites were more readily identified in ear biopsies than in biopsies from nose and abdominal samples, but the parasite load determined by optical microscopy (HE) showed no statistical differences
Summary
We compared skin biopsy samples from different anatomical regions for detecting Leishmania in dogs, using histological (HE), immunohistochemical (IHC) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques. Leishmaniasis is endemic in many areas of tropical and subtropical America [at least 24 countries], where it constitutes a significant public health problem. The disease in this region is basically a zoonosis; humans are only incidental hosts in the life cycles of the various pathogenic parasite species [11]. Visceral Leishmaniasis is endemic in European, Asiatic and Africa countries, and new areas in which the infection is being disseminated are being identified [9,12,21]. Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis (CVL) exists in about 50 of the 88 countries in which human leishmaniasis is present, and there are three major foci: China, the Mediterranean Basin and Brazil [3]
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