Is the Dog a Possible Reservoir for Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Suriname?

Henk Schallig,Alida Kent,Dennis Mans,Prakash Ramkalup

doi:10.1155/2013/324140

Abstract

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an emerging disease in Suriname, with at least 200 cases per year. Little is known about the biology of CL in the country. The most important parasite species is Leishmania Viannia guyanensis, but possible vectors and reservoirs are hardly incriminated. In the present study, it was investigated whether the dog could possibly be a zoonotic reservoir for the disease in Suriname. Forty-seven dogs were examined for overt clinical signs of leishmaniasis, and blood samples were collected on filter paper for serology (direct agglutination test) and molecular biology (by polymerase chain reaction). Three dogs had clinical signs that could be compatible with canine cutaneous leishmaniosis: dermatitis (two) or nasal lesion (one). Two dogs were seropositive with DAT (titre > 1 : 1600), and three animals had a borderline titre (1 : 800). All other animals (n = 42) were DAT negative. PCR analysis found Leishmania DNA equivalent to 1 parasite per mL in only one dog at a first round of analysis, but this animal was negative after retesting. The clinical, serological, and molecular data show some preliminary lines of evidence that canine leishmaniosis is present in Suriname, but further studies are needed to incriminate the reservoir, including a possible sylvatic cycle.

Highlights

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a skin disease ranging from self-healing lesions to single or large skin ulcers and is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania
Dogs can be severely affected by the infection, and canine leishmaniosis (CanL) can present as a systemic disease with as main clinical manifestations lymphadenopathy, dermatitis, alopecia, cutaneous ulcerations, onychogryphosis, lameness, anorexia, weight loss, cachexia, ocular lesions, epistaxis, anaemia, diarrhoea, and renal failure [3]
The current study provides some lines of evidence for the presence of canine cutaneous leishmaniosis in Suriname

Summary

Introduction

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a skin disease ranging from self-healing lesions to single or large skin ulcers and is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. Dogs can be severely affected by the infection, and canine leishmaniosis (CanL) can present as a systemic disease with as main clinical manifestations lymphadenopathy, dermatitis, alopecia, cutaneous ulcerations, onychogryphosis, lameness, anorexia, weight loss, cachexia, ocular lesions, epistaxis, anaemia, diarrhoea, and renal failure [3]. The signs and symptoms of canine CL include skin lesions that begin with the formation of a nodule at the place where the bite occurred. This nodule increases in size and may ulcerate. A significant proportion of infected animals remain asymptomatic [5], but these asymptomatic infected canines may act as carriers of Leishmania and are capable of transmitting the parasite to sand flies [6]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion