Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Leishmania infection found in 20% of dogs in Peso da Régua Portugal
By Cardoso, Luís et al.·Published in Acta tropica·2004·Department of Hygiene and Animal Health·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serological survey of Leishmania infection in dogs from the municipality of Peso da Régua (Alto Douro, Portugal) using the direct agglutination test (DAT) and fast agglutination screening test (FAST).
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
In a study of 294 dogs in Peso da Régua, Portugal, researchers found that 20.4% tested positive for Leishmania infection, which can cause leishmaniasis in dogs. However, only 15% of those infected showed any clinical signs, meaning many dogs can carry the disease without obvious symptoms. The tests used, called the direct agglutination test (DAT) and the fast agglutination screening test (FAST), were found to be reliable for detecting the infection. This information can help veterinarians identify and manage leishmaniasis in dogs, especially in areas where the disease is common.
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Abstract
Leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum is a prevalent disease in dogs and humans. A serological survey of Leishmania infection in dogs was carried out in the endemic region of Alto Douro (north Portugal). Two hundred and ninety-four dogs from the municipality of Peso da Régua were examined for clinical signs of canine leishmaniasis (CanL), and sera samples were evaluated by the direct agglutination test (DAT) and the fast agglutination screening test (FAST). The sero-prevalence of infection was 20.4%, after screening the study population by FAST and subsequent confirmation by DAT. The overall prevalence of disease was 3.1%. Only 15.0% of the sero-positive dogs had clinical signs of CanL. A high degree of agreement (88.4%; kappa value = 0.71) was found between DAT and FAST. This study further demonstrates that FAST can be used as a simple, rapid and sensitive screening test for canine Leishmania infection in areas of high endemicity and, together with DAT, is a valuable tool in the assessment of CanL.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15234658/