First Record of Autochthonous Canine Leishmaniasis in Hungary

Abstract

Hungary is traditionally regarded as a leishmaniasis-free country, and human or canine cases diagnosed locally have been recorded as imported. However, recent entomological surveys have verified the presence in Hungary of Phlebotomus neglectus and Phlebotomus perfiliewi perfiliewi, which have been incriminated as competent vectors of Leishmania infantum elsewhere in Europe. Following the occurrence in October 2007 of an undisputable clinical case of L. infantum canine leishmaniasis (CanL) in a 4-year-old female pug in a kennel of 20 dogs in Tolna province, an investigation was performed to assess the infection status in that canine population and to search for putative phlebotomine vectors. Another female pug became sick during the study period (May-November 2008) and L. infantum was confirmed as the causative agent. The other animals appeared clinically healthy; however, 4 additional dogs were found positive by indirect fluorescent antibody test (2 dogs), or by buffy-coat PCR (1 dog), or by both methods (1 dog). Hence the overall Leishmania infection prevalence in the kennel was 30% (6/20). All dogs were born in the same place and had been always kept outdoors. They had neither been abroad nor received a blood transfusion. No sand flies were collected with CDC Standard Miniature Light traps, Mosquito Magnet(®) X (MMX) dry ice-baited traps, or sticky traps placed either in or around the kennel and at nearby chicken yards during July and August of 2008 and 2009. Considering the dogs' historical background and the failure to trap any sand fly vectors in the kennel area, the origin of CanL in this site remains unexplained.

EVIDENCE OF Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum INFECTION IN DOGS FROM JUIZ DE FORA, MINAS GERAIS STATE, BRAZIL, BASED ON IMMUNOCHROMATOGRAPHIC DUAL-PATH PLATFORM (DPP®) AND PCR ASSAYS

“…Epidemiological studies on the occurrence of CVL in kennel dogs have been conducted in several parts of the world (CABEZON et al, 2010;BALDELLI et al, 2011;TÁNCZOS et al, 2012). Although kennels are not considered to be good epidemiological observatories in non-endemic areas, since they shelter abandoned dogs from all areas of the municipalities, on the other hand, kennel dogs can be considered important sentinels of some diseases, due to the risk of being exposed to pathogens and to not receiving any preventive or curative treatment during the free roaming period (CABEZON et al, 2010).…”

Leishmaniases in Greece

“…4,5 Although leishmaniasis is considered a tropical and subtropical disease, it has become endemic in other geographical areas and L. infantum is reported to be spreading to parts of Central Europe, like northern Italy, Hungary, and southern Germany. [6][7][8] This spread is related to factors concerning environmental, demographic, and human behavioral changes. 9,10 The emergence and spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) aids in the spread of leishmaniasis because this co-infection alters the epidemiology of the disease in favor of the parasite.…”

It shouldn’t happen to a dog … or a veterinarian: clinical paradigms for canine vector-borne diseases

“…Here, the all-important clinical suspicion normally triggered by reference to travel history is missing. Severe and sometimes fatal clinical illness associated with canine babesiosis, monocytic ehrlichiosis, and leishmaniosis were described recently in untravelled dogs in Europe; in the UK [26][27], Norway [28] and Hungary [9]. Depending on the circumstances, such cases may go undiagnosed (more generally misdiagnosed) during which time there may be opportunities for non-vectored transmission of the disease to occur to other dogs as described above.…”

“…Veterinarians need to be aware that a pet dog could present at any time with an infection or disease that they last heard about in veterinary school. Increasingly, unexpected canine infectious and parasitic diseases are reported in localities where they have never before been recognised [8][9][10], and the epithet 'exotic disease' appears to be in danger of becoming redundant. As an example, the term 'oriental eye worm' for Thelazia callipaeda (a vector-borne nematode of domesticated and wild canids) refers to its originally recognised distribution in Asia and the 'Far East' (from a Eurocentric perspective).…”