Cross-Sectional Serosurvey of Feline Leishmaniasis in Ecoregions Around the Northwestern Mediterranean

Abstract

A cross-sectional serosurvey using Leishmania infantum ELISA was performed on 445 cats living in ecoregions around the Northwestern Mediterranean basin; 58 cats from an area of the US where leishmaniasis is not endemic were used as negative controls. ELISA results were further confirmed in 69 cats by Western blot (WB). Finally, 76 of them were also tested for FeLV and FIV. Seroprevalence by ELISA-prot A was 6.29%, and that by ELISA-IgG was 5.25%. Positive cat sera recognized patterns of polypeptides in WB, including L. infantum-specific antigenic fractions. There was no association with retroviruses. Leishmania-specific antibodies are prevalent in cats living in ecoregions around the Northwestern Mediterranean basin; thus, leishmaniasis must be included in the differential diagnosis of diseases in cats living in these ecoregions. Their role as peridomestic reservoirs for L. infantum needs further characterization, but it could be hypothesized that the cat is a secondary reservoir host, rather than an accidental one.

Serological detection of Toxoplasma gondii, Leishmania infantum and Neospora caninum in cats from an area endemic for leishmaniasis in Brazil

“…On the other hand, Vides et al (2011) reported a higher seroprevalence by IFAT (10.9%) among cats sampled in the city of Araçatuba, state of São Paulo, which was higher than that found in this study, probably because all the cats sampled in the former study showed dermatologic lesions, one of the most suggestive clinical signs of feline leishmaniasis (SOLANO-GALLEGO et al, 2007). Sousa et al (2013) recently found high seroprevalence (100%) and high levels of L. infantum antibody titers ranged from 1:40 to 1:20480 among dogs sampled in the same area where this study was conducted.…”

“…Recently, Leishmania spp. infection in domestic cats has been reported in several countries, including Brazil, where this zoonosis is endemic (POLI et al, 2002;SOLANO-GALLEGO et al, 2007;SOUZA et al, 2005;SOBRINHO et al, 2012).…”

“…and Phlebotomus spp. (SOLANO-GALLEGO et al, 2007). Although dogs are considered the main reservoirs of Leishmania spp.…”

Detection of antibodies against Leishmania infantum in cats (Felis catus) from the State of Pernambuco, Brazil

“…The reservoirs for this parasite can include wild and domestic mammals, with domestic dogs serving as the most important reservoir in Brazil, where the disease is present in urban areas 1 . Infections in other pet animals, such as cats, have also been reported, mainly in certain European countries 2 as well as Brazil 3 . Although the role of cats in the epidemiology of VL has not been fully elucidated, data obtained from various studies suggest that this animal may act as secondary reservoirs or simply as accidental hosts.…”

Occurrence of Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi in a domestic cat (Felis catus) in Andradina, São Paulo, Brazil: case report

“…The occurrence of Leishmania in cats has been described by parasitological, molecular (HATAM et al, 2010;TABAR et al, 2008), and serological tests (DIAKOU et al, 2009;SOLANO-GALLEGO et al, 2007) as well as by IFA (MAROLI et al, 2007;AYLLON et al, 2008).…”