Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Detecting Leishmania DNA in urine of dogs with leishmaniosis
By Solano-Gallego, L et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2007·Clinica Veterinaria Privata San Marco, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Detection of Leishmania infantum DNA by fret-based real-time PCR in urine from dogs with natural clinical leishmaniosis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with leishmaniosis, a disease caused by the Leishmania parasite, had their urine tested for the parasite's DNA. Out of 43 affected dogs, 47% tested positive, with the highest rate of 85% found in dogs suffering from kidney problems and protein in their urine. This suggests that dogs with severe kidney damage may have more Leishmania parasites in their urine compared to those with less severe symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of urine testing in diagnosing and understanding the severity of leishmaniosis in dogs.
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to detect Leishmania infantum DNA by real-time PCR in urine from different groups of dogs with clinical leishmaniosis. Urine from 10 clinically healthy dogs and 43 dogs with clinical leishmaniosis diagnosed by positive serology and/or bone marrow PCR were studied. The group of 43 dogs with clinical leishmaniosis was divided into three subgroups: 13 dogs with renal insufficiency and proteinuria (urine protein-creatinine ratio greater than one), 13 dogs with only proteinuria, and 17 dogs with neither renal insufficiency nor proteinuria. The detection of Leishmania DNA was performed by light cycler real-time PCR using hybridization probes in each urine sample. Leishmania positive PCR was found in 47% (20/43) of the urine from leishmaniotic dogs, while all urine from clinically healthy dogs were negative. The percentages of positive Leishmania PCR were 85% (11/13) in dogs with renal insufficiency and proteinuria, 23% (3/13) in dogs with proteinuria and 35% (6/17) in dogs with neither renal insufficiency nor proteinuria. Dogs with renal insufficiency and proteinuria presented a statistical significant greater percentage of positive Leishmania PCR in urine when compared with the other subgroups (P<0.02). This study demonstrates the presence of Leishmania DNA in urine of dogs with leishmaniosis. Those dogs with severe renal damage present a greater number of Leishmania parasites in urine.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17532143/