Epidemiology of canine leishmaniosis in Catalonia (Spain) the example of the Priorat focus

Vet Parasitol. 1999 Jun 15;83(2):87-97. doi: 10.1016/s0304-4017(99)00074-6.

Abstract

An epidemiological survey of canine leishmaniosis was conducted in the Priorat, a rural region in the Northeast of Spain, for 10 years (1985-1994). Seroprevalence throughout the region, determined by dot-ELISA and IFI, was 10.2% (8-12%). Forty percent of the dogs studied had a low level of anti-Leishmania antibodies, whereas only 50% were seronegative. Only one-third of the seropositive dogs had evident symptoms of the disease. Annual incidence of the disease was 5.7% and the level of endemicity was stable during the study. Four Leishmania zymodemes (MON-1, MON-29, MON-77, MON-105) were present in the focus, and their distribution in the different hosts is discussed. Apart from dogs and foxes, no other reservoir host has been found in the region.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Protozoan / blood
  • Disease Reservoirs
  • Dog Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Dogs
  • Electrophoresis / veterinary
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / veterinary
  • Female
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / veterinary
  • Foxes
  • Goats
  • Incidence
  • Isoenzymes
  • Leishmania infantum / immunology*
  • Leishmaniasis, Visceral / epidemiology
  • Leishmaniasis, Visceral / veterinary*
  • Male
  • Rodentia
  • Rural Population
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • Sex Factors
  • Sheep
  • Spain / epidemiology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Protozoan
  • Isoenzymes