Abstract
BackgroundSince 2009, the incidence of human leishmaniosis in the SW of the Madrid region has been unusually high. Although dogs are the main reservoir for this disease, a role played by dogs in this outbreak has been ruled out and investigators are now considering other hosts (eg. cats, rabbits, hares) as possible alternative reservoirs.This study was designed to examine the Leishmania infantum status of stray cats in Madrid to assess its possible implications in the human leishmaniosis outbreak.Methods346 captured stray cats were tested for antibodies against L. infantum by the indirect fluorescent antibody technique (IFAT) and nested-PCR methods were used to detect Leishmania DNA in blood samples of cats testing seropositive for L. infantum and/or retroviruses infection. Cats were also tested for Toxoplasma gondii using the direct agglutination test (DAT) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) antigen and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) antibodies (PetChek* FIV/FeLV). The presence of intestinal parasites was determined using a routine coprological method.ResultsThe seroprevalence of L. infantum infection (cut off ≥ 1/100) was 3.2% (11/346). However, it was not possible to amplify Leishmania DNA in any of the blood samples. Seropositivity was not associated with sex, age, capture site, clinical status, retrovirus infection or T. gondii seropositivity. Of the 11 cats seropositive for L. infantum, 3 also tested positive for FIV, none for FeLV and 6 for T. gondii. It should be mentioned that the prevalence of FeLV p27 antigen was 4% and of FIV antibody was 9.2%. Although the seroprevalence of T. gondii was quite high at 53.5%, no T. gondii oocysts were found in any of the faeces samples analysed (n = 287). In contrast, intestinal parasites were detected in 76 (26.5%) samples, Toxocara cati being the most prevalent.ConclusionsOur results suggest a stable L. infantum infection situation among the stray cats of the Madrid area; the disease is uncommon and no clinical cases have been reported to date. The detection of other zoonotic parasites such as T. gondii and T. cati in stray cats indicates a need to adopt strict control measures in this population.
Highlights
Since 2009, the incidence of human leishmaniosis in the SW of the Madrid region has been unusually high
Antibodies against L. infantum have been detected in four cats [9] and blood from cats was found in a gravid female P. perniciosus collected from the area affected by the outbreak [10]
The cats were captured throughout the Madrid region (Madrid Autonomous Community, CM) and its bordering provinces: 25 cats in Guadalajara (NW of CM), 38 in Toledo (S of CM) and 272 in CM (Figure 1)
Summary
Since 2009, the incidence of human leishmaniosis in the SW of the Madrid region has been unusually high. This study was designed to examine the Leishmania infantum status of stray cats in Madrid to assess its possible implications in the human leishmaniosis outbreak. Dogs are considered the main reservoir, L. infantum has been detected in a wide range of mammalian species, including cats [1,2,3,4]. Before 2009, the mean reported annual incidence of human leishmaniosis in the Madrid Autonomous Community (CM) was 1.12 cases/100,000 inhabitants [5]. Antibodies against L. infantum have been detected in four cats [9] and blood from cats was found in a gravid female P. perniciosus collected from the area affected by the outbreak [10]
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