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Serological and molecular survey of Leishmania infection in dogs from Luanda, Angola.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) due to Leishmania infantum is a global zoonosis endemic in more than 70 countries in Europe, North Africa, Asia and America; however, data on this infection is scarce from southern Africa. The aim of this study was to survey dogs in Luanda, Angola, for Leishmania infection. FINDINGS: One hundred-and-three dogs presented to a veterinary medical centre in Luanda were serologically and molecularly assessed for Leishmania with the direct agglutination test (DAT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Two dogs were seropositive, with DAT titres of 800 and ?6400; the latter was also found to be PCR-positive and confirmed to be infected with L. infantum by DNA sequence analysis. No other dog was found to be PCR-positive. The first dog had been imported from Portugal, but the latter had never left Angola (neither had its parents), strongly suggesting an autochthonous infection. CONCLUSIONS: Although other cases of CanL have previously been described in the country, this is the first reported study of canine Leishmania infection at the population level, as well as the first report on the molecular characterization of L. infantum in dogs from Angola.

SUBMITTER: Vilhena H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3972991 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Serological and molecular survey of Leishmania infection in dogs from Luanda, Angola.

Vilhena Hugo H Granada Sara S Oliveira Ana Cristina AC Schallig Henk D F H HD Nachum-Biala Yaarit Y Cardoso Luís L Baneth Gad G

Parasites & vectors 20140324

<h4>Background</h4>Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) due to Leishmania infantum is a global zoonosis endemic in more than 70 countries in Europe, North Africa, Asia and America; however, data on this infection is scarce from southern Africa. The aim of this study was to survey dogs in Luanda, Angola, for Leishmania infection.<h4>Findings</h4>One hundred-and-three dogs presented to a veterinary medical centre in Luanda were serologically and molecularly assessed for Leishmania with the direct agglutina ...[more]

PMID: 24655415

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Project description:Abstract Background Survivors of childhood bacterial meningitis (BM) from low-income countries are at increased risk of sequelae. How BM survivors’ daily life is affected in the developing world, is not known. We aimed to investigate the quality of life among pediatric survivors of BM in Luanda, Angola assessing both physical and psychosocial health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Methods Survivors from two BM treatment trials (ISRCTN62824827; NCT01540838) from Luanda Children’s Hospital were called to follow-up visits in January 2017 with a median duration of 26 months after BM. We administered Pediatric Quality of Life InventoryTM (PedsQLTM) 4.0 Generic Core Scales and Infant Scales, designed to measure HRQOL in children, to patients and/or parents. The generic core scales were administered to 64 and 32 families, and the infant scores to 8 and 3 care-givers of patients and controls, respectively. We used age-appropriate versions of the scales. We calculated the total, physical and psychosocial HRQOL domains. To determine internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated for generic score scales. Results In all, 73 survivors of BM and 36 control children participated. 18 (51%) of controls were siblings of survivors; others visited the hospital for vaccinations. The median age of children was 6 years (81 months, IQR 85 months). Survivors of BM scored significantly lower on the PedsQLTM 4.0 generic core and infant scales than control children according to parent proxy reports indicating lower HRQOL (total score 81.04 vs. 91.30, P = 0.001; physical health 87.50 vs. 100.00, P = 0.0002; psychosocial health 79.06 vs. 90.00, P = 0.001). Child self-report scores were also lower within BM survivors who were able to answer; however, the difference was not statistically significant. In total sample of survivors, the Cronbach’s alphas reached sufficient reliability of 0.70 in all three domains calculated (total score, ?=0.79; physical health ?= 0.77; psychosocial health ?= 0.89 for child self-reports and ?=0.91, ?=0.91, and ?=0.84 for parent proxy-reports, respectively). Conclusion The survivors of pediatric BM endure a clearly suboptimal quality of life compared with siblings and other control children. HRQOL can be measured reliably among BM patients in developing country setting. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Project description:We report a study on toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in Luanda, Angola, determining the seroprevalence, geospatial distribution and its association with socio-economic features, dietary habits and hygiene and health conditions. Anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM were quantified in serum samples of women attended at the Lucrecia Paim Maternity Hospital between May 2016 and August 2017. The IgG avidity test and qPCR assay were used for dating the primary infection. Data were collected by questionnaire after written consent, and spatial distribution was assessed through a Kernel Density Function. The potential risk factors associated with Toxoplasma infection were evaluated using bivariate and multivariate binomial logistic regression analysis. Anti-T. gondii antibodies were quantified in 878 pregnant women, and 346 (39.4%) samples were IgG positive, 2 (0.2%) positive for IgM and IgG, and 530 (60.4%) negative for both immunoglobulins. The longitudinal study showed that none of the seronegative women seroconverted during the survey. Regarding other infections, 226 (25.7%) were positive for hepatitis B, while 118 (13.4%) were HIV-positive. The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis was similar in most municipalities: 43.8% in Cazenga (28 of 64); 42.5% in Viana (88 of 207); 42.3% in Cacuaco (22 of 52); and 41.1% in Luanda ((179 of 435). In contrast, the seroprevalence in municipality of Belas was lower (25.8%; 31 of 120) and bivariate and multivariate analysis has shown a lower risk for toxoplasmosis in this area (OR 0.479, CI: 0.305-0.737; OR 0.471, CI: 0.299-0.728). The multivariate analysis has shown a significant increased risk for toxoplasmosis in women in the last trimester of pregnancy (OR 1.457, CI: 1.011-2.102), suffering spontaneous abortion (OR 1.863, CI: 1.014-3.465) and having pets at home (OR 1.658, CI: 1.212-2.269). Also, women who tested positive for hepatitis B (OR 1.375, CI: 1.008-1.874) and HIV (OR 1.833, CI: 1.233-2.730) had a significant increased risk for T. gondii infection. In conclusion, our study showed that a large number of pregnant women are not immunized for toxoplasmosis and identified the risk factors for this infection in Luanda. It is crucial to establish the diagnosis of primary maternal infection as well as the diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis. Our results underlined the need for diagnostic and clinical follow-up of toxoplasmosis, HIV and hepatitis B during pregnancy.

Project description:BackgroundThere are several screening tools for detecting Leishmania infantum infection in dogs and various preventive measures to protect against it. Some studies have investigated them, but not many have described their current use. The aim of this study was to investigate which preventive measures and serological screening tools for L. infantum infection were employed from 2012 to 2018 in dogs from different endemic European countries.MethodsA set of electronic datasheets was completed for each dog from several veterinary centres. Classification of preventive measures included: (1) repellents, (2) vaccines and (3) immunomodulators. Classification of serological tests included the: (1) direct agglutination test (DAT), (2) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), (3) indirect immunofluorescence (IFI), (4) rapid tests and (5) other assays. Dogs were also classified depending on their risk of exposure and living area.ResultsInformation from 3762 dogs was gathered. Preventive measures were applied in 91.5% of dogs and the most frequently used were repellents (86.2%) followed by vaccines (39.8%) and Leisguard® (15.3%). The different types of repellents (collar and spot-on) were used similarly. A combination of a vaccine and repellents was preferred in the high-risk group while the low-risk preferred a combination of Leisguard® and a repellent (Chi-square test: X2 = 88.41, df = 10, P < 0.001). Furthermore, all preventive measures were similarly used through the years except for repellents, which were predicted to have a small increase of use each year. Regarding serological screening tools, the most used were rapid and ELISA tests. Rapid tests, ELISA tests and DAT were used similarly through the years, but a significant change was found in the use of IFI and other assays whose use decreased a little each year.ConclusionsRepellents were the preferred measure, while vaccines and Leisguard® were second-line options. Some dogs were not treated by any measures, which highlights the need for dog owner education. Moreover, there seems to be a preference for rapid tests in the clinical setting to detect specific L. infantum antibodies while ELISA or IFI are less often employed. This underlines an increasing problem, as qualitative rapid tests have a variable diagnostic performance limiting the adequate diagnosis of seropositive dogs in endemic areas.

Dataset Information

Serological and molecular survey of Leishmania infection in dogs from Luanda, Angola.

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Serological and molecular survey of Leishmania infection in dogs from Luanda, Angola.

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