Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Detecting Leishmania infantum DNA in dog skin and eye swabs in Brazil
By de Almeida Ferreira, Sidney et al.·Published in PLoS neglected tropical diseases·2012·Departamento de Parasitologia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine skin and conjunctival swab samples for the detection and quantification of Leishmania infantum DNA in an endemic urban area in Brazil.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 80 dogs in Brazil suspected of having canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) were tested for the presence of Leishmania infantum, the parasite that causes the disease. The dogs were divided into those showing symptoms and those that were asymptomatic. The tests showed that symptomatic dogs had higher levels of the parasite in their skin and conjunctival swabs compared to asymptomatic dogs. This suggests that even dogs without visible symptoms can carry a significant parasite load, which may contribute to the spread of the disease in urban areas.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: We evaluated kDNA PCR/hybridization and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) targeting the gene of DNA polymerase of Leishmania infantum for CVL diagnosis and assessment of parasite load in clinical samples obtained invasively and non-invasively. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Eighty naturally infected dogs from an endemic urban area in Brazil were used. Animals were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of CVL clinical sings. Skin biopsies, bone marrow, blood and conjunctival swabs samples were collected and submitted to L. infantum DNA detection. In addition, anti-Leishmania antibody titers were measured by Immunofluorescence antibody test. The symptomatic dogs had increased titers compared to asymptomatic dogs (P = 0.025). The frequencies of positive results obtained by kDNA PCR/hybridization for asymptomatic and symptomatic dogs, respectively, were as follows: right conjunctiva, 77.5% and 95.0%; left conjunctiva, 75.0% and 87.5%; skin, 45.0% and 75.0%; bone marrow, 50.0% and 77.5%; and blood, 27.5% and 22.5%. In both groups, the parasite load in the skin samples was the highest (P<0.0001). The parasite loads in the conjunctival swab and bone marrow samples were statistically equivalent within each group. The parasite burden in conjunctival swabs was higher in the dogs with clinical signs than in asymptomatic dogs (P = 0.028). This same relationship was also observed in the bone marrow samples (P = 0.002). No differences in amastigotes load in the skin were detected between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The conjunctival swab is a suitable clinical sample for qualitative molecular diagnosis of CVL. The highest parasite burdens were detected in skin regardless of the presence of VL-associated clinical signs. The qPCR results emphasized the role of dogs, particularly asymptomatic dogs, as reservoirs for CVL because of the high cutaneous parasite loads. These results may help to explain the maintenance of high transmission rates and numbers of CVL cases in endemic urban regions.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22506084/