Evaluating relationships between poverty and dog health, we find that dogs in poor communities are sicker and more likely to be infected with zoonotic pathogens . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 Here, we compare several dog health indicators in three rural communities of Panama with different degrees of socio-economic deprivation. From a total of 78 individuals, we collected blood and fecal samples, and assessed their body condition. With the blood samples, we performed routine hematologic evaluation (complete blood counts) and measured cytokine levels (Interferon-γ and Interleukin-10) through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. With the fecal samples we diagnosed helminthiases. Dogs were also serologically tested for exposure to Trypanosoma cruzi and canine distemper virus, and molecular tests were done to assess T. cruzi infection status. We found significant differences between dog health measurements, pathogen prevalence, parasite richness, and economic status of the human communities where the dogs lived. We found dogs that were less healthy, more likely to be infected with zoonotic pathogens, and more likely to be seropositive to canine distemper virus in the communities with lower economic status. This study concludes that isolated communities of lower economic status in Panama may have less healthy dogs that could become major reservoirs in the transmission of diseases to humans and sympatric wildlife.

SUMMARYAmerican cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is a complex disease with a rich diversity of animal host species. This diversity imposes a challenge, since understanding ACL transmission requires the adequate identification of reservoir hosts, those species able to be a source of additional infections. In this study we present results from an ACL cross-sectional serological survey of 51 dogs (Canis familiaris), where we used diagnostic tests that measure dog's exposure to Leishmania spp. parasites. We did our research in Panamá, at a village that has undergone significant ecosystem level transformations. We found an ACL seroprevalence of 47% among dogs, and their exposure was positively associated with dog age and abundance of sand fly vectors in the houses of dog owners. Using mathematical models, which were fitted to data on the proportion of positive tests as function of dog age, we estimated a basic reproductive number (R0 ± s.e.) of 1·22 ± 0·09 that indicates the disease is endemically established in the dogs. Nevertheless, this information by itself is insufficient to incriminate dogs as ACL reservoirs, given the inability to find parasites (or their DNA) in seropositive dogs and previously reported failures to experimentally infect vectors feeding on dogs with ACL parasites.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a major vectorborne disease in Panama. In this study, the diagnostic performance and usefulness of two DNA extraction procedures from skin scraping samples collected on FTA filter paper for subsequent PCR diagnosis of CL was evaluated. A positive CL laboratory diagnosis was based on a positive parasitological test (Giemsa-stained smears or in vitro culture) and/or positive PCR test performed from skin scrapings collected in TE buffer (PCR-TE). Of 100 patients with skin lesions suggestive of CL, 82 (82%) were confirmed as CL positive. The sensitivity was calculated for each of the PCR approaches from samples collected on filter paper. The highest sensitivity was achieved by PCR-FTA processed by Chelex 100 (PCR-Chelex) (0.94). PCR-FTA extracted using the FTA purification reagent presented a lower sensitivity (0.60). Good concordance between routine PCR-TE and PCR-Chelex was observed (percent agreement=0.88, κ index=0.65). In conclusion, use of FTA filter paper for skin scraping collection combined with PCR is a reliable and convenient method for CL diagnosis in Panama, with comparable performance to the routine PCR method and with improved sensitivity compared with those of conventional parasitological methods.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an endemic disease in the Republic of Panama, caused by Leishmania (Viannia) parasites, whose most common clinical manifestation is the presence of ulcerated lesions on the skin. These lesions usually present a chronic inflammatory reaction, sometimes granulomatous, with the presence of lymphocytes, plasma cells and macrophages. This study describes the histopathological characteristics found in the skin lesions of patients with CL caused by Leishmania (V.) panamensis in Panama. We analyzed 49 skin biopsy samples from patients with clinical suspicion of CL, by molecular tests (PCR for subgenus Viannia and HSP-70) and by Hematoxylin-Eosin staining. Samples were characterized at the species level by PCR-HSP-70/RFLP. From the 49 samples studied, 46 (94%) were positive by PCR and were characterized as Leishmania (V.) panamensis. Of these, 48% were positive by Hematoxylin-Eosin staining with alterations being observed both, in the epidermis (85%) and in the dermis (100%) of skin biopsies. The inflammatory infiltrate was characterized according to histopathological patterns: lymphohistiocytic (50%), lymphoplasmacytic (61%) and granulomatous (46%) infiltration, being the combination of these patterns frequently found. The predominant histopathological characteristics observed in CL lesions caused by L. (V.) panamensis in Panama were: an intense inflammatory reaction in the dermis with a combination of lymphohistiocytic, lymphoplasmacytic and granulomatous presentation patterns and the presence of ulcers, acanthosis, exocytosis and spongiosis in the epidermis.