Department of Parasitology, Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Parasit Vectors. 2013 Apr 15;6:100. doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-6-100.
Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) is an endemic zoonosis in the southern regions of Europe. This paper reports the trend in CanL seroprevalence in the municipality of Évora (southern Portugal), where the disease is endemic, over a period of 20 years. The work comprises three different studies that were conducted in the years of 1990 (n = 3,614), 1999 (n = 3,563) and 2010 (n = 1,485 dogs). Blood samples were collected during the anti-rabies vaccination campaigns. Anti-Leishmania antibodies were detected with the direct agglutination test (DAT).
The total percentages of DAT seropositive dogs were 3.9% (in 1990), 9.4% (in 1999) and 5.6% (in 2010). The overall seroprevalence was significantly higher in 1999 compared to 1990, but in 2010 a significant decrease was found in comparison with 1999. However, compared to 1990 the overall seroprevalence was still significantly higher in 2010. From 1990 to 2010 seroprevalence has switched from significantly lower to higher in the rural areas. Relatively few dogs showed clinical signs of overt disease (0.8% to 2.0%) with lymphadenopathy, onychogryphosis and skin involvement as most frequently observed. Gender associated differences in seroprevalence were not found, and most commonly seropositive dogs were working or stray animals. The mean age of seropositive dogs was significantly higher than seronegative dogs in all three sampling rounds.
A high proportion of dogs, which are apparently healthy, yet seropositive, may remain an important factor in limiting the outcome of zoonotic leishmaniosis control efforts.
犬利什曼病（CanL）是欧洲南部地区的地方性人畜共患病。本文报告了在埃武拉市（葡萄牙南部），一种地方性疾病的 20 年期间 CanL 血清阳性率的趋势。该工作包括在 1990 年（n = 3614）、1999 年（n = 3563）和 2010 年（n = 1485 只狗）进行的三项不同的研究。血液样本是在狂犬病疫苗接种运动期间采集的。抗利什曼原虫抗体采用直接凝集试验（DAT）检测。
DAT 血清阳性犬的总百分比分别为 3.9%（1990 年）、9.4%（1999 年）和 5.6%（2010 年）。与 1990 年相比，1999 年的总体血清阳性率显著更高，但与 1999 年相比，2010 年发现显著下降。然而，与 1990 年相比，2010 年的总体血清阳性率仍然显著更高。从 1990 年到 2010 年，农村地区的血清阳性率从显著较低转为较高。只有少数狗表现出明显的显性疾病临床症状（0.8%至 2.0%），最常观察到淋巴结病、甲床变形和皮肤受累。未发现性别相关的血清阳性率差异，最常见的血清阳性犬为工作犬或流浪犬。在所有三个采样轮次中，血清阳性犬的平均年龄均显著高于血清阴性犬。
相当比例的犬，尽管表面健康，但血清呈阳性，这可能仍然是限制人畜共患利什曼病控制工作结果的一个重要因素。
