Public Health Department, University of Messina, Polo Universitario Annunziata, 98168 Messina, Italy.
Vet Parasitol. 2012 Feb 28;184(1):10-7. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2011.08.010. Epub 2011 Aug 16.
The use of non invasive sampling, such as collection of conjunctival swabs, as a diagnostic tool for the detection of Leishmania DNA is of interest. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of detecting Leishmania infection with the use of conjunctival swab samples in dogs living in a highly endemic area for leishmaniosis and to investigate, for the first time, the presence of Leishmania DNA in oral swabs in the same population. One hundred sixty-three dogs living outdoor and recruited in various provinces of Sicily were studied. Leishmania infantum indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction to leishmanin (DTH) and real-time PCR of blood (BL), lymph node (LN), conjunctival (CS) and oral swab (OS) samples were performed. The positive PCR percentages in LN, CS, OS and BL samples were: 24.5%, 22.1%, 8.7% and 5.5%, respectively. Serological and DTH positive percentages were 27.0% and 73.8%, respectively. Seropositive and LN-PCR positive dogs had a high likelihood to be positive by CS-PCR. The similar positive PCR percentages found in CS and LN samples suggest the use of CS-PCR as non-invasive alternative technique to LN-PCR for the detection of Leishmania infection in dogs. In addition, this study demonstrated, for the first time, the presence of Leishmania DNA in oral swabs in dogs.
使用非侵入性采样，如结膜拭子采集，作为检测利什曼原虫 DNA 的诊断工具是很有意义的。本研究的目的是评估在利什曼病高度流行地区使用结膜拭子样本检测犬利什曼原虫感染的诊断效用，并首次调查同一人群口腔拭子中是否存在利什曼原虫 DNA。研究共纳入了 163 只生活在户外的犬，分别来自西西里岛的不同省份。对犬进行了利什曼原虫间接荧光抗体试验（IFAT）、利什曼菌素延迟型超敏反应（DTH）和血液（BL）、淋巴结（LN）、结膜（CS）和口腔拭子（OS）样本的实时 PCR 检测。LN、CS、OS 和 BL 样本中阳性 PCR 的百分比分别为：24.5%、22.1%、8.7%和 5.5%。血清学和 DTH 阳性百分比分别为 27.0%和 73.8%。血清学阳性和 LN-PCR 阳性的犬 CS-PCR 阳性的可能性较高。CS 和 LN 样本中发现的相似阳性 PCR 百分比表明，CS-PCR 可作为 LN-PCR 的非侵入性替代技术，用于检测犬的利什曼原虫感染。此外，本研究首次证明了犬口腔拭子中存在利什曼原虫 DNA。
