Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Leishmania infantum in dogs in Sardinia (Italy), an endemic island for l
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PROTOZOOLOGY - ORIGINAL PAPER
Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Leishmania infantum in dogs in Sardinia (Italy), an endemic island for leishmaniasis Claudia Tamponi 1 & Fabio Scarpa 1 & Silvia Carta 1 & Stephane Knoll 1 & Daria Sanna 2 & Carolina Gai 1 & Anna Paola Pipia 1 & Giorgia Dessì 1 & Marco Casu 1 & Antonio Varcasia 1 & Antonio Scala 1 Received: 6 October 2020 / Accepted: 8 November 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Leishmaniasis is a widespread, vector-borne parasitosis causing clinical manifestations in animals and in humans. In dogs, Canine Leishmaniasis has been reported in as much as 50 countries and the Mediterranean basin is known to be one of the most affected zones. Within these areas, the Island of Sardinia (Italy) has long been considered endemic for leishmaniasis and the presence of two arthropod vectors has recently been reported there. Nevertheless, to date, no epidemiological surveys regarding CanL have been carried out on the island. Hence, for the first time, the seroprevalence and the risk factors were investigated. Blood samples, as well as clinical and general information from 1.147 dogs, were collected and analyzed. Dogs consisted of two distinct populations, namely “owned dogs” and “kennel dogs.” Anti-Leishmania IgG antibodies were detected using IFAT and samples were scored as positive at a cut-off dilution of 1:80. Data was analyzed using a Chi-squared test and bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Overall, 15.4% of dogs were found to be infected with CanL while only 44.1% of these animals exhibited clinical signs. Owned dogs (27.2%) were found to be infected more often than kennel dogs (10.6%); male dogs were found to be more frequently infected than female dogs and the number of infected animals increases with age. The present survey confirmed the endemic nature of leishmaniasis in Sardinia with a similar seroprevalence as mainland Italy. The results obtained serve as validation for the hypothesis that, in endemic areas, clinical CanL representations constitute only a fraction of the leishmaniasis cases. Keywords Leishmaniasis . Endemic areas surveillance . Sardinia . dogs
Claudia Tamponi and Fabio Scarpa contributed equally to this work. Handling Editor: Julia Walochnik * Antonio Varcasia [email protected]
Anna Paola Pipia [email protected]
Claudia Tamponi [email protected]
Giorgia Dessì [email protected]
Fabio Scarpa [email protected]
Marco Casu [email protected]
Silvia Carta [email protected]
Antonio Scala [email protected]
Stephane Knoll [email protected] 1
Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Via Vienna, 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy
2
Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari, Italy
Daria Sanna [email protected] Carolina Gai [email protected]
Parasitol Res
Introduction Leishmaniasis are a group of vector-borne diseases caused by Leishmania spp., commonly affecting several animal species and humans in more than 88 countries (Khan et al. 202
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