Urban Horses As Environmental Bioindicators for Leishmaniasis

Abstract

The presence of DNA and anti-Leishmania spp. antibodies in the serum of 112 healthy horses was investigated by evaluating the physical examination, from a rural society located in the north central region of Paraná. The antigens of Leishmania amazonensis, Leishmania braziliensis, and Leishmania infantum were used to perform the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, where it was possible to detect the reaction in 27.67% of the samples. These were also subjected to the real-time quantitative PCR, which confirmed the presence of Leishmania spp. DNA in 67.34% of the tested samples. The results show that the tested animals were previously exposed to the protozoan. Thus, these animals can be considered environmental bioindicators of the presence of Leishmania spp. at the study site. The material used in this study (serum), although not ideal, proved to be effective and less invasive. Taking into account the importance of the disease, the absence of more in-depth information on the species, the high zootechnical value of these animals, and their strictly close contact with the urban area and the human species, it is essential that further studies are carried out to elucidate the epidemiological profile of them in the face of the disease, as well as the possibility of them acting not only as hosts but also as reservoirs.

Factors associated with the expansion of leishmaniasis in urban areas: a systematic and bibliometric review (1959–2021)

“…in Brazil. 14 In order to understand the epidemiology of canine leishmaniasis, many studies were dedicated to serological investigation, where they found the presence of Leishmania antibodies in the analyzed samples. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Other studies showed the participation of dogs in the process of urbanization 22,23 and resurgence of leishmaniasis, 22 as well as suggesting that the disease is expanding in urban areas, with an exponential increase of positivity within dogs.…”

Prevalence and Factors Related to Leishmania infantum Infection in Healthy Horses (Equus caballus) from Eastern Spain

“…Whereas ELISA is an indirect technique of diagnosis, real-time PCR is a direct technique to detect parasitic DNA. In fact, other authors have observed these discrepancies in apparently healthy animals of different species including horses [ 37 ], dogs [ 38 ], cats [ 39 ], and wild animals [ 40 ]. These differences observed between positive healthy animals via serological and molecular techniques could be explained by considering the timeframe required to seroconvert, which is different between species [ 40 ].…”

“…In South America, the seroprevalence of Leishmania spp. in healthy horses has been estimated to be around 27% [ 54 ], even reaching 67.3% of horses from urban areas via real-time PCR [ 37 ]. These data are in agreement with those observed in our study, confirming the sensitivity of the real-time PCR technique for the detection of Leishmania spp., especially in asymptomatic animals [ 55 ].…”