A survey on canine leishmaniasis and phlebotomine sand flies in central Italy

Maresca, Carmen; Scoccia, Eleonora; Barizzone, Fulvio; Catalano, A. L.; Mancini, Silvia; Pagliacci, T.; Porrini, Massimiliano; Principato, Mario Antonello; Venditti, G.; Grelloni, V.

doi:10.1016/j.rvsc.2008.11.009

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Finally, central Italy showed a distribution pattern on which both pathogens are highly prevalent. In this macroarea, the prevalence of L. infantum was higher (29.6%) of that indicated in previous surveys (up to 10%) [32,33]. Hence, central Italian regions are an important pathway for the spreading of CanL from southern to northern.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

Leishmania infantum and Dirofilaria immitis infections in Italy, 2009–2019: changing distribution patterns

et al. 2020

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Background: For long time, canine leishmaniosis (CanL) was considered endemic in the southern, central, and insular regions of Italy, whereas heartworm disease (HW) caused by Dirofilaria immitis was considered endemic in the northern region and in the swampy Po Valley. Following the reports of new foci of both diseases, in this study we update the distribution patterns and occurrence of new foci of CanL and HW discussing the main drivers for the changes in the epidemiology of these two important zoonotic canine vector-borne diseases.Methods: Based on the statistical analyses of serological assays (n = 90,633) on L. infantum exposure and D. immitis infection performed by two reference diagnostic centres in Italy over a ten-year period (2009-2019) irrespective of the anamnesis of dogs. The distribution patterns of both parasites are herein presented along with the occurrence of new foci.Results: Results highlighted the changing distribution patterns of L. infantum vs D. immitis infection in Italy. CanL is endemic in some areas of northern regions and HW has endemic foci in central and southern regions and islands. Significant differences in L. infantum exposure and HW infection prevalence among the study macroareas were detected. The overall results of the positive tested samples were 28.2% in southern Italy and islands, 29.6% in central Italy and 21.6% in northern Italy for L. infantum and 2.83% in northern Italy, 7.75% in central Italy and 4.97% in southern Italy and islands for HW. HW positivity significantly varied over years (χ 2 = 108.401, df = 10, P < 0.0001), gradually increasing from 0.77% in 2009 to 8.47% in 2016-2017.Conclusions: New potential epidemiological scenarios are discussed according to a range of factors (e.g. environmental modifications, occurrence of competent insect vectors, transportation of infected animals to non-endemic areas, chemoprophylaxis or vector preventative measures), which may affect the current distribution. Overall, the results advocate for epidemiological surveillance programmes, more focussed preventative and control measures even in areas where few or no cases of both diseases have been diagnosed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

Leishmania infantum and Dirofilaria immitis infections in Italy, 2009–2019: changing distribution patterns

et al. 2020

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“…Results from other surveys were in fact limited in space or time (Maresca et al 2009, Podaliri-Vulpiani et al 2009, Biglino et al 2010, Galvez et al 2010, Baldelli et al 2011. During the last 3 years, CanL prevalence in dogs tested at the admittance in kennels has increased from 1.0% in 2010 to 2.4% in 2012.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

A Surveillance Program on Canine Leishmaniasis in the Public Kennels of Emilia-Romagna Region, Northern Italy

Santi

Renzi

Baldelli

et al. 2014

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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Since 2007, a canine leishmaniasis (CanL) surveillance program has been carried out in public kennels of the Emilia-Romagna region with the aim of providing health guarantees for dog adoptions. According to this program, monitoring activities were performed to verify the presence of sandflies and infected dogs, and a specific CanL risk class was assigned to each kennel, resulting in different control approaches (entomological and/or serological monitoring, clinical surveillance, therapeutic treatment of infected dogs, protections against vector bites). From 2007 to 2012, 20,931 dogs, 89.8% of which were identified by microchip and housed in 73 kennels, were examined using an indirect fluorescent antibody test. In all, 528 (2.8%) dogs tested positive, and 43.0% of these were asymptomatic. The authors used monitoring results, in particular serological tests performed on dogs at admittance to the kennel and annual controls of sentinel dogs, to estimate CanL risk in the whole region and to evaluate the efficacy of the preventive measures adopted. CanL seroprevalence in dogs tested at the admittance in kennels increased significantly from 2010 (1.0%; 29/2858) to 2012 (2.4%; 69/2841). In contrast, the number of seroconversions in sentinel dogs was stable in 2010 (1.2%; 11/896) and 2011 (1.6%; 13/825) and decreased in 2012 (0.9%; 8/850), suggesting the efficacy of the preventive measures applied.

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“…These areas have been traditionally assumed to have a moderately prevalent or unstable endemicity status. However, although several CanL serosurveys have been performed in these areas (7,8,9,24,30), the limited extent of the foci investigated and the low numbers of dogs examined have not allowed the current endemic status to be reliably determined. Very recently, a CanL seroprevalence prediction map carried out in three European regions (12) attributed to our study area a score of stable endemic focus (predicted range of seroprevalence, 10 to 30%), which is consistent with the 21.34% seroprevalence rate observed using IFAT in the present study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diagnostic Value of Conjunctival Swab Sampling Associated with Nested PCR for Different Categories of Dogs Naturally Exposed to Leishmania infantum Infection

et al. 2012

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The objective of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of a noninvasive assay, conjunctival swab (CS) nested-PCR (n-PCR), for diagnosing canine leishmaniasis (CanL) in different stages of infection in comparison to the performance of the indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT), lymph node microscopy, and buffy coat n-PCR. To this end, we performed a cross-sectional survey among 253 nonselected dogs in areas of endemicity in central Italy. We also performed a longitudinal study of CS n-PCR among 20 sick dogs undergoing antileishmanial treatment. In the first study, among the 72 animals that were positive by at least one test (28.45%), CS n-PCR showed the best relative performance (76.38%), with a high concordance in comparison to standard IFAT serology ( ‫؍‬ 0.75). The highest positivity rates using CS n-PCR were found in asymptomatic infected dogs (84.2%) and sick dogs (77.8%); however, the sensitivity of the assay was not associated with the presence of clinical signs. In the follow-up study on treated sick dogs, CS n-PCR was the most sensitive assay, with promising prognostic value for relapses. The univariate analysis of risk factors for CanL based on CS n-PCR findings showed a significant correlation with age (P ‫؍‬ 0.012), breed size (P ‫؍‬ 0.026), habitat (P ‫؍‬ 4.9 ؋ 10 ؊4 ), and previous therapy (P ‫؍‬ 0.014). Overall, the results indicated that CS n-PCR was the most sensitive assay of the less invasive diagnostic methods and could represent a good option for the early and simple diagnosis of CanL infection in asymptomatic animals and for monitoring relapses in drug-treated dogs.

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A survey on canine leishmaniasis and phlebotomine sand flies in central Italy

Cited by 21 publications

References 11 publications

Leishmania infantum and Dirofilaria immitis infections in Italy, 2009–2019: changing distribution patterns

Leishmania infantum and Dirofilaria immitis infections in Italy, 2009–2019: changing distribution patterns

A Surveillance Program on Canine Leishmaniasis in the Public Kennels of Emilia-Romagna Region, Northern Italy

Diagnostic Value of Conjunctival Swab Sampling Associated with Nested PCR for Different Categories of Dogs Naturally Exposed to Leishmania infantum Infection

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