Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Leishmania infection and transmission in cats in Brazil
By Paula, Nathalia Frigo de Almeida et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology, regional studies and reports·2025·Post-graduate program in Epidemiology and One Health, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Molecular studies on Leishmania infantum from cats in Brazil with novel insights about its transmission route.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Three domestic cats in Brazil were found to have a parasite called Leishmania infantum in their reproductive organs, which is concerning because it can be transmitted through sandflies and possibly other means. Researchers tested 302 cats and discovered that only a small number had the parasite, but the DNA matched closely with strains found in humans. This suggests that cats could potentially play a role in the spread of this disease, although more research is needed to fully understand how it might be transmitted.
People also search for: cat leishmaniasis symptoms · how do cats get leishmania · cat reproductive organ infections · leishmania transmission in pets
Abstract
Leishmania spp. are protozoan parasites responsible for zoonotic diseases known as leishmanioses. These parasites are primarily transmitted by infected sandflies; however, alternative transmission routes, such as vertical and venereal transmission, have been documented in humans and dogs. This study investigated the presence of Leishmania DNA in the reproductive organs of domestic cats in an area endemic for visceral leishmaniosis (VL). Conjunctival swabs from 302 cats, and reproductive tissues from 41 of these animals (34 males and 7 females) were analyzed by PCR targeting the kDNA and ITS1 regions of Leishmania. Positive samples underwent Sanger sequencing for species confirmation and phylogenetic analysis. In considering various samples tested, Leishmania DNA was detected in a total of three cats (1.0 %; 3/302), the three cats were positive for the PCR of reproductive tissue, while only two of them for the PCR of conjunctival swabs. Sequencing revealed high similarity (99.3-100 %) with L.infantum sequences obtained from humans hosts, and phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the sequenced samples clustered within the L.infantum clade. Although the frequency of positive cats was low, these results suggest the presence of L. infantum in the reproductive organs of cats, highlighting the need for further investigation into non-vector transmission routes in this species.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40967700/