First report on natural infection with Leishmania infantum in a domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) in Spain

Giner, Jacobo; Basurco, Asier; Alcover, M. Magdalena; Riera, Cristina; Fisa, Roser; López, R.; Juan‐Sallés, Carles; Verde, Maite; Fernández, Antonio; Yzuel, Andrés; Villanueva‐Saz, Sergio

doi:10.1016/j.vprsr.2020.100369

Cited by 16 publications

(29 citation statements)

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“…In Spain, the first Leishmania infection in cats was described in 1933 [24], and since then the number of natural cases of feline leishmaniosis has increased not only in Spain but also worldwide [25]. In areas endemic for L. infantum, dogs and other domestic animals, such as ferrets [26], have been diagnosed with clinical leishmaniosis, but the epidemiological role of the cat is still not completely or clearly understood. In this context, there is an urgent need for epidemiological surveys to ascertain the contribution of infected cats in areas where cases are detected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A cross-sectional study of Leishmania infantum infection in stray cats in the city of Zaragoza (Spain) using serology and PCR

et al. 2021

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Background Feline leishmaniosis is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by Leishmania spp. Leishmania infection in dogs is prevalent in the Mediterranean basin, but in other animals, such as cats, it could also play a role in the epidemiology of the disease. Information on the geographical distribution and epidemiological features of L. infantum infection in cats is scarce, particularly in urban stray cats living in regions where canine leishmaniosis is endemic. As diagnosis can be challenging, combining different serological and molecular methods is a useful approach. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of infection of L. infantum in apparently healthy stray cats in an endemic region of Spain (Zaragoza city) using serological and molecular methods, and to compare the results of the different techniques. Methods The prevalence of Leishmania infection was studied in stray cats captured in urban and peri-urban areas of Zaragoza. Blood was collected from each animal for serology and molecular analysis. Three serological methods, namely the immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and western blot (WB), were used to detect L. infantum antibodies and a real-time PCR (qPCR) assay was used to detect L. infantum DNA. The results were analyzed by Fisher’s exact test and Cohen’s kappa statistic (κ) to assess the level of agreement between the diagnostic techniques. Results Serological analysis of blood samples from 180 stray cats revealed 2.2% (4/179) Leishmania infection positivity by IFAT, 2.8% (5/179) by ELISA and 14.5% (26/179) by WB. Leishmania DNA was detected by qPCR in 5.6% (10/179) of the cats. Sixteen cats (8.9%) tested positive by only one serological technique and four tested positive by all three serological methods used. The overall rate of infected cats (calculated as the number of cats seropositive and/or qPCR positive) was 15.6%, and only two cats tested positive by all the diagnostic methods. A significant association was found between male cats and a positive qPCR result. Comparison of the techniques revealed a fair agreement in seropositivity between blood qPCR and IFAT (κ = 0.26), blood qPCR and ELISA (κ = 0.24), WB and ELISA (κ = 0.37) and WB and IFAT (κ = 0.40). The highest agreement between seropositive results was between IFAT and ELISA (κ = 0.89), and the lowest was between blood qPCR and WB (κ = 0.19). The prevalence of the feline leukemia virus antigen was 4.49% (8/178 cats) and that of the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) antibody was 6.74% (12/178), while co-infection with both retroviruses was observed in one female cat (1/178). Leishmania ELISA and IFAT seropositivity were statistically associated with FIV status by the chi-square test. Conclusions The results obtained in this study, using serological tests and qPCR, indicate the existence of L. infantum asymptomatic infection in apparently healthy stray cats in the city of Zaragoza, an endemic area in Spain.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A cross-sectional study of Leishmania infantum infection in stray cats in the city of Zaragoza (Spain) using serology and PCR

et al. 2021

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“…The absence of a gold standard technique is a recurrent situation in clinical practice and diagnostic research studies including confirmatory techniques for L. infantum infection in dogs (Rodríguez-Cortés et al, 2010), cats (Persichetti et al, 2017), ferrets (Giner et al, 2020) and humans (Galluzzi et al, 2018). Although it is usual, the application of two or more tests combination based on different principles such as molecular, serological or other parasitological techniques when there is no reference standard.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the performance of three serological tests for diagnosis of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs using latent class analysis

Basurco

Natale

Capello

et al. 2020

Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet.

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Canine leishmaniasis (CanL) is a disease caused by Leishmania infantum. Serological methods are the most common diagnostic techniques used for the diagnosis of the CanL. The objective of our study was to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of one in-house ELISA kit (ELISA UNIZAR) and three commercially available serological tests (MEGACOR Diagnostik GmbH) including an immunochromatographic rapid test (FASTest LEISH®), an immunofluorescent antibody test (MegaFLUO LEISH®) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (MegaELISA LEISH®), using latent class models in a Bayesian analysis. Two hundred fifteen serum samples were included. The highest sensitivity was achieved for FASTest LEISH® (99.38%), ELISA UNIZAR (99.37%), MegaFLUO LEISH® (99.36%) followed by MegaELISA LEISH® (98.49%). The best specificity was obtained by FASTest LEISH® (98.43%), followed by ELISA UNIZAR (97.50%), whilst MegaFLUO LEISH® and MegaELISA LEISH® obtained the lower specificity (91.94% and 91.93%, respectively). The results of present study indicate that the immunochromatographic rapid test evaluated FASTest LEISH® show similar levels of sensitivity and specificity to the quantitative commercial tests. Among quantitative serological tests, sensitivity and specificity were similar considering ELISA or IFAT techniques.

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“…were detected in faecal samples from the patient, which cohabited with two other ferrets diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis. Allopurinol was re-added to therapy and at the last reported evaluation the patient’s general clinical status was stable [ 118 ].…”

Section: Mammals (Class Mammalia)mentioning

confidence: 99%

New Epidemiological Aspects of Animal Leishmaniosis in Europe: The Role of Vertebrate Hosts Other Than Dogs

et al. 2021

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Infection with Leishmania parasites can lead to severe disease in humans and dogs, which act as a reservoir in zoonotic transmission. An increasing number of reports suggest that leishmaniosis is not restricted to dogs, but also affects many other mammalian and avian species. Consequently, this expands the potential reservoir and is of great public and veterinary health concern. The present study reviews, based on a comprehensive search of scientific literature published from 01 January 2001 to 31 December 2020, the currently available information on animal leishmaniosis in vertebrates in Europe, other than dogs and humans. This review provides an exhaustive list of mammals and birds in which infections with or exposure to Leishmania parasites have been detected in European countries. Most cases are reported from the Mediterranean region. Domestic animals, in particular cats, pose a concern because of close contact with humans. The wildlife reservoir is less likely to contribute to zoonotic transmission, with the exception of hares. This potentially large reservoir needs to be taken into account when developing control measures for zoonotic leishmaniosis. From a veterinary point of view, it is important that veterinarians are better aware of leishmaniosis and trained in its management.

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First report on natural infection with Leishmania infantum in a domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) in Spain

Cited by 16 publications

References 25 publications

A cross-sectional study of Leishmania infantum infection in stray cats in the city of Zaragoza (Spain) using serology and PCR

A cross-sectional study of Leishmania infantum infection in stray cats in the city of Zaragoza (Spain) using serology and PCR

Evaluation of the performance of three serological tests for diagnosis of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs using latent class analysis

New Epidemiological Aspects of Animal Leishmaniosis in Europe: The Role of Vertebrate Hosts Other Than Dogs

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