Sharifdini M, Mohebali M, Keshavarz H, Hosseininejad M, Hajjaran H, Akhoundi B, Foroushani A Rahimi, Zarei Z, Charehdar S
Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Iran J Arthropod Borne Dis. 2011;5(2):60-8. Epub 2011 Dec 31.
Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis (MVL) is an infectious disease that affects both human and animals. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) are principal reservoir hosts of MVL caused by Leishmania infantum. Dogs are definitive hosts for Neospora caninum and a risk factor for infecting intermediate hosts. The immunosuppression caused by visceral leishmaniasis (VL) can promote the occurrence of co-infections with other agents such as neosporosis. This study aimed to determine the frequency of co-infection of the both protozoan parasites in the endemic areas of VL from Meshkin-Shahr District, north-west of Iran.
Altogether, 171 serum samples were collected from domestic dogs of Meshkin-Shahr District by multistage cluster sampling from October 2008 to August 2009. The collected serum samples were tested for the detection of simultaneous infection of L. infantum and N. caninum using direct agglutination test (DAT) and indirect ELISA, respectively.
Of the 171 domestic dogs, 27 (15.8%) and 52 (30.4%) were showed antibodies against L. infantum and N. caninum, respectively. Simultaneous infections of N. caninum and L. infantum was found in 16 (9.4%) of the dogs. In VL-positive and VL-negative dogs, N. caninum infection was found in 59.3% and 25.0%, respectively. A statistically significant difference was found between VL-positive and VL-negative dogs with N. caninum infection (P= 0.001).
These findings indicate that Meshkin-Shahr District in northwestern Iran is an active focus of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). Neospora caninum and L. infantum co-infection is prevalent in the area and infection by L. infantum seems to enhance susceptibility to N. caninum infection in domestic dogs.
地中海内脏利什曼病（MVL）是一种影响人类和动物的传染病。家犬（犬属）是婴儿利什曼原虫引起的MVL的主要储存宿主。犬是犬新孢子虫的终末宿主，也是感染中间宿主的一个危险因素。内脏利什曼病（VL）引起的免疫抑制可促进与其他病原体如犬新孢子虫病的合并感染的发生。本研究旨在确定伊朗西北部梅什金沙尔区VL流行地区这两种原生动物寄生虫合并感染的频率。
2008年10月至2009年8月，通过多阶段整群抽样从梅什金沙尔区的家犬中总共采集了171份血清样本。分别使用直接凝集试验（DAT）和间接ELISA检测采集的血清样本中婴儿利什曼原虫和犬新孢子虫的同时感染情况。
在171只家犬中，分别有27只（15.8%）和52只（30.4%）显示出抗婴儿利什曼原虫和犬新孢子虫的抗体。在16只（9.4%）犬中发现了犬新孢子虫和婴儿利什曼原虫的同时感染。在VL阳性和VL阴性犬中，犬新孢子虫感染率分别为59.3%和25.0%。VL阳性和VL阴性犬的犬新孢子虫感染情况存在统计学显著差异（P = 0.001）。
这些发现表明伊朗西北部的梅什金沙尔区是犬内脏利什曼病（CVL）的一个活跃疫源地。犬新孢子虫和婴儿利什曼原虫合并感染在该地区很普遍，婴儿利什曼原虫感染似乎会增加家犬对犬新孢子虫感染的易感性。
