Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Parasite levels in blood and skin link to dog infectivity for sand
By Borja, Lairton Souza et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2016·Laborató, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Parasite load in the blood and skin of dogs naturally infected by Leishmania infantum is correlated with their capacity to infect sand fly vectors.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 23 dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum, the parasite that causes visceral leishmaniasis, were studied to see how their infection levels affected their ability to infect sand flies. The dogs showed various clinical signs of the disease, but interestingly, the severity of their symptoms didn't change how many sand flies they infected. It was found that higher levels of the parasite in the dogs' blood and skin were linked to a greater chance of infecting sand flies, even though the overall number of infected flies was low. This suggests that monitoring parasite levels in infected dogs could help understand their role in spreading the disease.
People also search for: dog leishmaniasis symptoms · how do dogs spread leishmaniasis · treatment for dog leishmaniasis
Abstract
The sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis is primarily responsible for the transmission of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the New World, and dogs are considered to be the main urban reservoir of this disease. In order to improve the efficacy of control measures, it is essential to assess the transmission capacity of Leishmania infantum to the sand fly vector by naturally infected dogs. The present study investigated the existence of correlations between canine clinical presentation and the intensity of parasite load in the blood, skin and spleen of naturally infected dogs. In addition, we also attempted to establish correlations between the intensity of parasite load in canine tissue and the parasite load detected in sandflies five days after feeding on naturally infected dogs. A total of 23 dogs were examined and classified according to clinical manifestation of canine VL. Blood samples, splenic aspirate and skin biopsies were collected and parasite DNA was quantified by qPCR. Canine capacity to infect Lu. longipalpis with parasites was evaluated by xenodiagnosis and parasite loads were measured five days after feeding. No significant differences were observed with respect to canine clinical manifestation and the parasite loads detected in the blood, skin and spleen samples obtained from naturally infected dogs. Regardless of clinical canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) presentation and the degree of parasite burden, almost half of the dogs successfully infected sandflies with parasites, albeit to a low number of sandflies with correspondingly low parasite loads. Parasite loads in both canine blood and skin were shown to be positively correlated with the canine infectiousness to the sand fly vector, and positive correlations were also observed with respect to these tissues and the sand fly infection rate, as well as the parasite load detected in sandflies following xenodiagnosis. In conclusion, this indicates that parasite loads in both blood and skin can function as potentially reliable markers of canine capacity to infect sand fly vector.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27809965/