Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Allopurinol given monthly does not prevent leishmaniosis in dogs
By Saridomichelakis, Manolis N et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2005·Clinic of Companion Animal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Periodic administration of allopurinol is not effective for the prevention of canine leishmaniosis (Leishmania infantum) in the endemic areas.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study involving 95 healthy dogs living in an area where canine leishmaniosis (a disease caused by the Leishmania infantum parasite) is common found that giving allopurinol (a medication often used for other conditions) did not prevent these dogs from getting infected. Over a year, some dogs that received allopurinol became positive for the parasite, while fewer dogs that received a placebo did. Ultimately, the treatment did not help to stop the infection in healthy dogs or clear the parasite from those already infected. Pet owners should be aware that allopurinol may not be effective in preventing this disease in at-risk dogs.
People also search for: dog leishmaniosis prevention · allopurinol for dogs · canine leishmaniosis treatment
Abstract
A total of 95 clinically healthy and seronegative for Leishmania infantum dogs, residing an area highly endemic for canine leishmaniosis (CL) and living an outdoor life-style, were split into positive and negative groups, and then were randomly assigned to receive allopurinol (n=51; 20 mg/kg once daily), or placebo (n=44) for 1 week per month, from April to November. Forty per cent (38/95) of these dogs were not reexamined and retested at the end of the trial for reasons unrelated to CL. None of the remaining 57 dogs exhibited the symptomatic form of the disease at the end of the 1-year follow-up period. Of the 15 allopurinol-treated dogs that were non-infected (negative PCR and tissue smear microscopy) at the beginning of the trial, 6 (40% P=0.03) became PCR-positive, of which 3 became also seropositive, at the end of the observation period. In contrast, only 1 of 7 (14.3%) placebo-treated non-infected dogs became PCR positive at the same time point. Of the 19 allopurinol-treated dogs that were infected (PCR-positive) at the beginning of the trial, 18 (94.7%) remained PCR-positive and one (5.3%) seroconverted, at the end of the observation period. Of the 16 initially infected and placebo-treated dogs, 14 (87.5%) remained PCR positive, of which one (6.7%) also turned positive by tissue smear microscopy. Therefore, it is concluded that the use of allopurinol, at the daily dose of 20mg/kg, for 1 week per month, during the period of sandfly activity, does not prevent the infection of non-infected dogs by L. infantum, and, also, does not help in the elimination of the parasite from dogs with asymptomatic infections.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15905034/