Clinical and epidemiological aspects of feline leishmaniasis in Brazil

Abstract

Tegumentary and visceral leishmaniasis are severe and unfortunately common parasitic diseases in Brazil. Among domestic animals, dogs are considered the main urban reservoir of the protozoan parasites, however, there is evidence that infected cats can also contribute towards the disease pool. The number of cats diagnosed with leishmaniasis has greatly increased in the last few years, highlighting the importance of thorough investigations on the role of the cat in the epidemiological cycle of the disease and in public health related issues. The main clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis suffered by cats, even when infected with Leishmania chagasi, a viscerotropic species, are skin abnormalities, which can be confounded with multiple other diseases. Indirect ELISA should be used as a screening test in epidemiological investigations for being a sensitive technique, followed by more specific laboratory tests. The standardization and validation of rapid, economical and reproducible diagnostic methods, to be employed in epidemiological surveillance, are still required. Key words: Leishmania spp., cat, epidemiology, diagnosis, zoonosis, prevalence ResumoLeishmaniose tegumentar e visceral são doenças parasitárias graves e, infelizmente, comuns no Brasil. Entre os animais domésticos, o cão é considerado o principal reservatório urbano do parasito protozoário; no entanto, há indícios de que gatos infectados também possam contribuir para essas doenças. O número de gatos com diagnóstico de leishmaniose aumentou muito nos últimos anos, destacando a importância de investigações aprofundadas sobre o papel desse hospedeiro no ciclo epidemiológico da doença e em Saúde Pública. As principais manifestações clínicas da leishmaniose felina são anormalidades na pele, o que pode ser confundida com várias outras doenças, mesmo em casos de infecção por Leishmania chagasi, uma espécie viscerotrópica. ELISA indireto poderia ser usado como teste de triagem em investigações epidemiológicas, por ser um método sensível, seguido de exames laboratoriais mais específicos. A padronização e validação de métodos de diagnóstico rápidos, econômicos e reprodutíveis a serem empregados na vigilância epidemiológica ainda são necessárias.

Detection of Leishmania spp. using parasitological, serological and molecular assays in asymptomatic and sick cats from an endemic area of visceral leishmaniosis in Brazil

“…PCR is a technique that, when combined with other tests, becomes convenient for the detection of asymptomatic carriers of the parasite in endemic areas and for the evaluation of vectors and animal reservoirs involved in the cycle of leishmaniosis [50]. In the present study, the use of whole blood was shown to be more sensitive for the detection of Leishmania spp., with 9.1% (5/55) of positivity.…”

Detection of Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica in domestic cats in the Ege Region of Turkey

“…Although domestic cats are relatively resistant to Leishmania infection (Solano-Gallego et al, 2007), clinical signs including cutaneous ulcerated lesions, nodular dermatitis and alopecia (Mancianti et al, 2004;Silveira et al, 2015) may occur in a small number of infected animals.…”

“…showing antibody titers much lower (below 1:80) than canine leishmaniosis (CanL) (Gramiccia, 2011;Silveira Neto et al, 2015). Therefore, PCR assays are considered to be more sensitive than serology to diagnose leishmaniosis in cats (Martin-Sanchez et al, 2007).…”

“…Feline clinical cases of leishmaniosis caused by Leishmania (L.) infantum have been reported in Europe, the Middle East and Brazil since the 1980s, mostly belonging to zymodem MON-1 (Pennisi, 2013;Silveira Neto et al, 2015;Pennisi et al, 2015). A number of serological tests have been used to diagnose Leishmania infection in cats (Solano-Gallego et al, 2007;Sarkari et al, 2009) with reported seroprevalence rates ranging between 0.2% and 68% in Southern Europe;…”

Serological and molecular investigation of Leishmania spp. infection in cats from an area endemic for canine and human leishmaniasis in Northeast Brazil

“…In the last two decades, there has been a considerable increase in epidemiological studies and reports of FeL, especially in areas endemic for canine and human leishmaniasis (PENNISI et al, 2015). However, there is limited knowledge about its immunological and pathophysiological aspects, making the diagnosis challenging (SILVEIRA et al, 2015).…”