Evaluation of canine and feline leishmaniasis by the association of blood culture, immunofluorescent antibody test and polymerase chain reaction

Abstract

BackgroundThis study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of Leishmania spp. in dogs and cats from Botucatu, São Paulo state, and Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, by the association of three diagnostic tests: blood culture in liver infusion tryptose medium, immunofluorescent antibody test and polymerase chain reaction. Fifty blood samples of dogs and cats from the Center for Zoonosis Control in Campo Grande, an area endemic for canine visceral leishmaniasis, were collected randomly, as well as canine and feline blood samples from the Municipal Kennel and Animal Protection Association in Botucatu, currently considered a transmission-free, non-endemic area.ResultsOf the 50 dog blood cultures from Botucatu, three (6%) were positive and of the 50 cats, two (4%) were positive. In Campo Grande, 29 dog blood cultures (58%) were positive and all (100%) cats negative by this test. Polymerase chain reaction detected Leishmania spp. in 100% of dog and cat samples from Botucatu but found all the cats from Campo Grande to be negative. On the other hand, 36 dogs from Campo Grande were positive (72%) by the same technique. Immunofluorescent antibody test in Botucatu found 100% of dogs and cats non-reactive, while in Campo Grande, it detected positivity in 32 dogs (64%) and 15 cats (30%).ConclusionsThe results show the importance of not only continuous epidemiological surveillance in areas not endemic for leishmaniasis, but also research for accurate diagnosis of this zoonosis.

Detection of Leishmania spp. using parasitological, serological and molecular assays in asymptomatic and sick cats from an endemic area of visceral leishmaniosis in Brazil

“…Our results agree examining those of Braga et al [11], who reported 4% (2/50) of cats as positive using the blood culture technique, with animals from a non-endemic region, and so suggesting good applicability of the technique in endemic regions. Our parasitological result also agreed with other studies performed in domestic cats with a positive parasitological diagnosis, such as the lymph node imprint technique, with the finding of amastigotes in 0.7% (2/283) of animals, and bone marrow, spleen and liver aspirate smears, showing positivity in 4% (8/200) of animals; both studies were conducted in cats from Araçatuba, a VL-endemic area [32,48].…”

“…Chatzis et al [26], have shown that IFAT and ELISA are characterized by low sensitivity and high specificity for the detection of infected cats, and that the diagnostic performance is not improved by changing the cut-off values. The finding of anti-Leishmania antibodies using IFAT and/or ELISA-SE has also been reported in cats in other endemic regions but with a lower prevalence [8,11,42,43].…”

“…However, little is known about the clinical manifestations and immune response to the disease in these animals, which is well-established in dogs. Thus, various techniques have been used in the diagnosis of FL, such as serological, parasitological and molecular techniques [5,7,11,12,14,18,32,41].…”

“…Feline leishmaniosis (FL) cases have been reported in South America [5,[7][8][9][10][11], and in Europe [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] and Asia [19][20][21]. More properly in many cats the Leishmania infection is associated with an immunosuppressive condition due to feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus, and for this reason there can be an overlap of clinical symptoms or the immunosuppression can promote the development of visceral forms of leishmaniosis [22].…”

Survey of Leishmania Infantum Chagasi in Wild and Domestic Animals in Urban Area and Atlantic Rainforest Fragment in Northeast, Brazil

“…Although the domestic dog is the most important vertebrate host and the main reservoir for human VL caused by Leishmania zoonotic species [3], the finding of positive cats for VL [4,5] suggests that felids may also have some role in the epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis.…”