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Leishmania infection in cats and dogs housed together in an animal shelter reveals a higher parasite load in infected dogs despite a greater seroprevalence among cats.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:An outbreak of leishmaniosis was studied in cats and dogs housed together with no separation in an animal shelter in Israel. METHODS:The study included recording of clinical signs, serology for Leishmania infection by ELISA, PCR of blood for Leishmania DNA by ITS1 HRM and kDNA PCR, parasite quantification, and trapping of sand flies around the shelter. RESULTS:Thirty-seven % (22/60) of the dogs and 75% (50/67) of the cats were seropositive to L. infantum with a significantly higher seropositivity rate in the cat population (?2 = 42.160, P < 0.0001). Twenty-five percent (15/60) of the dogs were positive for Leishmania by blood PCR, 12% by the Leishmania ITS1 HRM PCR and 22% by kDNA PCR. Of the cats, 16% (11/67) were positive by kDNA PCR and none by ITS1 HRM PCR. All the PCR-positive animals were infected by L. infantum verified by DNA sequencing and there was no significant difference between the PCR-positivity in the dog and cat populations. Altogether, 43% (26/60) of the dogs and 79% (53/67) of the cats were positive by serology or PCR for L. infantum. The average Leishmania parasite load in the blood of PCR-positive dogs (42,967 parasites/ml) was significantly higher than in PCR-positive cats (1259 parasites/ml) (t(12) = 2.33, P = 0.037). Dogs that were positive by the Leishmania ITS1 HRM PCR and kDNA PCR had significantly higher parasite loads than dogs positive only by the kDNA PCR (t(11) = - 3.186580, P < 0.009). No significant effect was found for FIV seropositivity on Leishmania infection in the cats (?2 = 0.506, P = 0.777). A higher percentage of Leishmania-positive dogs showed clinical signs compatible with leishmaniosis compared to Leishmania-positive cats (100 vs 52.8%, ?2 =15.242, P < 0.0001). Phlebotomus perfiliewi, a proven vector of L. infantum, comprised 92% of trapped sand flies. CONCLUSIONS:Comparisons of populations of cats and dogs exposed to sand flies and L. infantum under the same conditions indicated that although a high rate of exposure was detected in cats as manifested by a significantly greater degree of seropositivity, dogs had significantly higher blood parasite loads, and were likely to be more infectious to sand flies than cats.

SUBMITTER: Baneth G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7083040 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Leishmania infection in cats and dogs housed together in an animal shelter reveals a higher parasite load in infected dogs despite a greater seroprevalence among cats.

Baneth Gad G Nachum-Biala Yaarit Y Zuberi Adam A Zipori-Barki Nirit N Orshan Laor L Kleinerman Gabriela G Shmueli-Goldin Ayelet A Bellaiche Michel M Leszkowicz-Mazuz Monica M Salant Harold H Yasur-Landau Daniel D

Parasites & vectors 20200320 1

<h4>Background</h4>An outbreak of leishmaniosis was studied in cats and dogs housed together with no separation in an animal shelter in Israel.<h4>Methods</h4>The study included recording of clinical signs, serology for Leishmania infection by ELISA, PCR of blood for Leishmania DNA by ITS1 HRM and kDNA PCR, parasite quantification, and trapping of sand flies around the shelter.<h4>Results</h4>Thirty-seven % (22/60) of the dogs and 75% (50/67) of the cats were seropositive to L. infantum with a s ...[more]

PMID: 32192533

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Project description:BackgroundThree species of Leishmania cause disease in humans in Israel and are endemic in the Middle East: Leishmania infantum, Leishmania tropica and Leishmania major. These species infect dogs and cats, but little is known about their prevalence in pet populations and their clinical manifestations. A study on dog and cat Leishmania infection was conducted in a focus of human L. tropica infection in central Israel with the aim of getting insight on leishmaniosis in pets in an area where human infection is highly prevalent.MethodsBlood, demographic and clinical data were collected from dogs and cats brought for veterinary care in a focus of human L. tropica infection during 2018-2020. kDNA PCR and internal transcribed spacer1 high-resolution melt analysis PCR (ITS1 HRM PCR) with DNA sequencing were performed for the detection of Leishmania and species determination.ResultsForty-three of 189 dogs (22.8%) and 44 of 152 cats (28.9%) were positive for Leishmania spp. infection by kDNA PCR. The ITS1 HRM PCR detected six dogs (3.3%) infected with L. infantum and one (0.5%) with L. tropica, whereas six cats (3.9%) were found infected by L. infantum and five (3.3%) by L. tropica. Four of the five L. tropica-positive cats suffered from weight loss, four had azotemia, two with mild and two with severe azotemia and progressive renal disease. Three cats had gingivostomatitis; three had skin lesions with abscess and ulcers in two and scales and hair loss in another cat, which was also FIV +. This is the first report of feline L. tropica infection in Israel. Clinical information on cats with this infection from previous studies elsewhere is scarce.ConclusionsA high rate of Leishmania spp. infection, mostly estimated as sub-clinical, was found in dogs and cats admitted for veterinary care in an L. tropica focus. Among the animals in which infection could be characterized to the species level, more dogs were infected with L. infantum than with L. tropica while 5 of 11 cats were infected with L. tropica and had signs of systemic and skin disease not described before in feline L. tropica infection.

Project description:Simple Summary The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, which has kept the world in suspense since the beginning of 2020. Infected owners can transmit the virus to their cats and dogs, but it is not exactly known how often this happens. Here, we investigated samples from cats and dogs that live in households in Poland for antibodies against the virus. Antibodies are produced subsequently to a SARS-CoV-2 infection and can be detected for much longer than the virus itself. We found that approximately 18.9% of the cats and 16.0% of the dogs sampled had previously come into contact with the virus and developed antibodies. This suggests a continuous occurrence of virus transmission from infected owners to their pets. Abstract The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for a pandemic in the human population that has unfolded since the beginning of 2020 and has led to millions of deaths globally. Apart from humans, SARS-CoV-2 has been confirmed in various animal species, including felines, canines, mustelids, and primates. Of these species, dogs and cats are the most popular companion animals worldwide. Several seroprevalence studies have already been performed in these animal species; however, the results vary depending on the location and especially the time of sampling. Here, serum samples were collected from a total of 388 dogs and 243 cats from three veterinary clinics in two cities (Gdańsk and Olsztyn) in Poland between October 2021 and February 2022, when the country was in the midst of the fourth wave of viral spread. All sera were tested for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 by a multispecies ELISA based on the receptor-binding domain and by an indirect immunofluorescence assay (iIFA). Overall, 18.9% of the feline sera and 16.0% of the canine sera tested positive using ELISA and iIFA. This relatively high seroprevalence among randomly selected animals is most likely related to the high case numbers in the human population and indicates a continuous occurrence of transspecies virus transmissions from infected owners to their pets. Hence, dogs and cats should be included in monitoring studies and/or outbreak investigations for a better understanding of the epidemiology of this virus.

Dataset Information

Leishmania infection in cats and dogs housed together in an animal shelter reveals a higher parasite load in infected dogs despite a greater seroprevalence among cats.

Publications

Leishmania infection in cats and dogs housed together in an animal shelter reveals a higher parasite load in infected dogs despite a greater seroprevalence among cats.

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