Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Daily changes in parasite levels in dogs with leishmaniasis
By Di Pietro, Simona et al.·Published in Parasitology research·2020·Department of Veterinary Sciences, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Parasitemia and its daily variation in canine leishmaniasis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of sick dogs from a kennel was tested for a parasite called Leishmania, which causes canine leishmaniasis. Out of 39 dogs showing symptoms, only 12 had the parasite in their blood, and it was usually at low levels. Interestingly, some healthy dogs also tested positive for the parasite, even though they showed no signs of illness. This means that in areas where leishmaniasis is common, healthy dogs can still carry the parasite, which could pose a risk for blood transfusions and spreading the disease to other animals.
People also search for: dog leishmaniasis symptoms · healthy dog with Leishmania · canine leishmaniasis treatment · dog blood transfusion risks · kennel dog illness causes
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate, through qPCR, the prevalence of parasitemia in sick kennel dogs naturally infected by canine leishmaniasis. An evaluation of daily changes of the parasitic load in peripheral blood was also performed. A comprehensive clinical examination and the collection of several samples (blood, lymph node, skin, and conjunctiva) were performed in 140 dogs living in an endemic area. Among these, only the dogs with clinically evident leishmaniasis were enrolled (39/140; 27.9%). Twelve (30.8%) out of 39 showed parasitemia, with a low load (median: 4 Leishmania/ml) despite a high lymph node parasite load (median: 4000 Leishmania/ml) and high IFAT titers (≥ 1:640). Seven sick dogs were sampled every 4 h for 6 times during a 24-h period, in order to obtain light- and dark-span samples. Only one (14.3%) out of the seven serial sampled dogs showed Leishmania DNA in the peripheral blood in two samples (2/42; 4.8%). Surprisingly, Leishmania DNA was also detected in the peripheral blood of asymptomatic dogs, negative to both serology and PCR performed on samples other than blood (6/101; 5.9%). The present study confirms that in canine leishmaniasis parasitemia is uncommon and even transitory. Even if recommended, microscopic examination is confirmed as a low sensitivity method with a lower diagnostic utility in canine leishmaniasis than qPCR. Moreover, circulating Leishmania DNA can be found even in healthy dogs. This finding is important in clinical practice because in endemic areas it suggests a transfusion risk and a possible transmission to the vector.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32803333/