Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with leishmaniasis can infect sand flies
By Dantas da Silva, Mariana et al.·Published in Revista brasileira de parasitologia veterinaria = Brazilian journal of veterinary parasitology : Orgao Oficial do Colegio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinaria·2025·Programa de Pó·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Infectiousness to sand flies of a cat naturally infected with Leishmania infantum at the moment of diagnosis and after three different courses of treatment.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat with leishmaniosis (a disease caused by the Leishmania parasite) was diagnosed and found to be infectious to sand flies, which can spread the disease. The cat was treated with three different medications: marbofloxacin, miltefosine, and allopurinol. While marbofloxacin and miltefosine did not improve the cat's condition or stop the infection, the treatment with allopurinol resulted in noticeable clinical improvement. However, even after allopurinol, the cat still tested positive for the parasite and could transmit it to sand flies.
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Abstract
In this study, an evaluation was made of three treatments against feline leishmaniosis (FeL) and their impacts on the transmission of Leishmania infantum to its vector, Lutzomyia longipalpis. A cat with clinical signs of FeL was examined and L. infantum diagnosed. Subsequently, the cat was subjected to xenodiagnosis and L. infantum detected in the vectors. The cat was then treated with three different drugs and the clinical improvement and parasite transmissibility to the vector were evaluated. Promastigotes were observed in 21/52 female sandflies (40.38%) in a xenodiagnosis prior to the treatments. Clinical signs persisted after the first treatment with marbofloxacin, and the cat remained positive in serological, molecular, and parasitological tests. Therefore, the cat was treated with miltefosine but remained sick and tested positive. A second xenodiagnosis was performed a month after treatment with miltefosine, and promastigotes were observed in 5/9 females (55.55%). Lastly, the cat was treated with allopurinol, which led to good clinical improvement, but it remained positive, and a final xenodiagnosis revealed Leishmania in 2/29 (6.89%) females. The results showed that only treatment with allopurinol produced a good clinical response, but none of the treatments succeeded in eliminating L. infantum infection or preventing transmission to the vector.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39907366/