Seroprevalence, clinical, and pathological characteristics of canine leishmaniasis in a central region of Colombia

Abstract

IntroductionLeishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease which is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. Canids are the most important reservoir of the parasites; however, limited data are available on the species of Leishmania prevalent in these animals and their impact on human health. The objective of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of leishmaniasis in dogs from an inter-Andean region of Colombia during July 2016–July 2017, and to describe the clinical and histopathological features of the disease.Material and MethodsA total of 155 dogs were subjected to clinical examination and a serological test for detection of antibodies against Leishmania. Necropsy was carried out on positive animals and tissue samples were processed by routine histopathology.ResultsAltogether 19 dogs were positive in the serological test, establishing a 12% seroprevalence of Leishmania. Clinical examination and necropsy revealed exfoliative and ulcerative dermatitis with haemorrhagic borders on the ears, head, nose, and legs. Histopathology revealed severe multifocal dermatitis with abundant Leishmania amastigotes within the cytoplasm of phagocytic cells, depletion of lymphocytes in lymphoid tissues, interstitial pneumonia, and interstitial nephritis. Tissue samples were positive for Leishmania by PCR.ConclusionThe macro- and microscopic changes correlated with the presence of Leishmania as established by serological test and PCR.

Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of canine Leishmania infantum infection in selected towns of Southwest and West Shewa Zones of Oromia, Ethiopia

“…However, the current ndings disagree with the studies conducted in Algeria; where the infection was signi cantly more prevalent in older dogs than younger ones, in stray dogs than owned dogs, and rural dogs than urban ones [21], in Brazil, where the re-emergence of the disease appears to be a consequence of the discontinuation of control programs [28], and in the central region of Colombia, where owned dogs were strongly associated with canine leishmaniasis [30].…”

“…It could also possibly be due to the variation in the suitability of the environment, activities of sand ies, and the country's prevention and control strategies against CLI in predominant reservoir host, and vectors of leishmaniasis. Noticeably, the prevalence of canine leishmaniasis also varies between different regions depending on the serological tests used in the diagnosis [30].…”

“…Much lower Seroprevalences CLI than the present study have also been reported previously such as 6.5% in an endemic focus of Satlujriver valley of Himachal Pradesh (India) [22], 35% VL among dogs in VL endemic areas of Mymensingh district, Bangladesh [23], 26% L. infantum infection in dogs in Spain [24], 6.31% in Portugal [25],4.9 to 12.6% in a public kennel in Bologna, Italy [26],5.2% (L'Aquila, Abruzzo region) i.e., all animals were handled strictly by following the good animal handling practice to minimize animal sufferings during sampling. to 21.8% (Campobasso, Molise region) in Italy [27], 22% in Brazil [28], 22% in Colombia [29], and 12% in the central region of Colombia [30].…”

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Leishmania infantum in Canine Shelters in Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area and Barrancabermeja, Andean Region Santander, Colombia

“…Romero et al (2008Romero et al ( , 2009 found a seroprevalence of 68.5 and 50.2% in dogs in two occasions from the Department of Tolima and by Fernández et al (2002Fernández et al ( , 2006 who found a seroprevalence of 17.2 and 19.1% for L. chagasi from Huila. Picon et al (2020) determined 12% of visceral leishmania in dogs in the Tolima and Huila Departments. Also, our data differ from what was reported from Brazil with 10.3, 11.3, 23, and 37.3% IgG antibodies for L. infantum chagasi in dogs (Queiroz et al 2009;Barbosa et al 2015;Araujo et al 2016;Fujimori et al 2016).…”

A Novel Sampling Model to Study the Epidemiology of Canine Leishmaniasis in an Urban Environment

“…While seroepidemiological surveys are commonly used to measure the prevalence of leishmaniasis, there is a lot of variation in the methods used to recruit the canine study participants, and the details of how the sampling procedures are carried out is often lacking. For example, a recent study in Colombia ( 20 ) described how the sample being carried out in municipalities with increasing numbers of clinical cases reported by health authorities, but the procedures used to access the dog population is not provided. Some studies report using veterinary practices or samples extracted during a vaccination campaign ( 15 , 16 ), but it can be difficult to determine if the sample if truly representative, Confounding factors could be that dogs participating in a vaccination campaign are less likely to be infected because of the behavioral factors associated with their care.…”