Maia Carla, Altet Laura, Serrano Lorena, Cristóvão José Manuel, Tabar Maria Dolores, Francino Olga, Cardoso Luís, Campino Lenea, Roura Xavier
Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Medical Parasitology Unit, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisbon, Portugal.
Parasit Vectors. 2016 May 10;9(1):170. doi: 10.1186/s13071-016-1452-2.
Leishmaniosis caused by the protozoan Leishmania infantum and dirofilariosis caused by the nematodes Dirofilaria immitis or Dirofilaria repens are vector-borne zoonoses widely present in the Mediterranean basin. In addition, some studies reported that the endosymbiont Wolbachia spp. play a role in the biology and pathogenesis of filarial parasites. The aim of this work was to evaluate the frequency of mono- and co-infections by L. infantum, filariae and Wolbachia spp. and their association with clinical signs in dogs from the south of Portugal. Leishmanial, filarial and Wolbachia spp. DNA were evaluated by specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays in blood samples from 230 dogs.
One hundred and thirty-nine (60.4 %) dogs were qPCR-positive for L. infantum and 26 (11.3 %) for filariae (24 for D. immitis only, one D. immitis and for Acanthocheilonema dracunculoides and another one for Acanthocheilonema reconditum only). Wolbachia spp. DNA was amplified from 16 (64.0 %) out of the 25 D. immitis-positive dogs. Nineteen (8.3 %) dogs were co-infected with L. infantum and D. immitis, including the one (0.4 %) A. drancunculoides-positive animal. In dogs without clinical signs consistent with leishmaniosis and/or dirofilariosis, L. infantum prevalence was 69 %, whereas in those dogs with at least one clinical manifestation compatible with any of the two parasitoses prevalence was 42.7 %. Leishmania prevalence was significantly higher in apparently healthy mongrels (77.2 %) and pets (76.9 %) than in defined-breed dogs (including crosses; 58.8 %) and in dogs with an aptitude other than pet (i.e. farm, guard, hunting, shepherd or stray), respectively, whereas in those dogs with at least one clinical sign, the detection of L. infantum DNA was higher in males (53.3 %) and in those dogs not receiving insect repellents (52.8 %).
The molecular detection of canine vector-borne disease (CVBD) agents, some of which are zoonotic, reinforces the need to implement efficient prophylactic measures, such as insect repellents and macrocyclic lactones (including compliance to administration), in the geographical areas where these agents are distributed, with the view to prevent infection and disease among mammalian hosts including humans.
由原生动物婴儿利什曼原虫引起的利什曼病以及由线虫犬恶丝虫或匐行恶丝虫引起的恶丝虫病是在地中海盆地广泛存在的媒介传播人畜共患病。此外，一些研究报告称，内共生菌沃尔巴克氏体属在丝虫寄生虫的生物学和发病机制中起作用。这项工作的目的是评估葡萄牙南部犬类中婴儿利什曼原虫、丝虫和沃尔巴克氏体属的单一感染和共同感染频率及其与临床症状的关联。通过特异性实时聚合酶链反应（qPCR）检测对230只犬的血液样本中的利什曼原虫、丝虫和沃尔巴克氏体属DNA进行评估。
139只（60.4%）犬的婴儿利什曼原虫qPCR检测呈阳性，26只（11.3%）犬的丝虫检测呈阳性（仅24只为犬恶丝虫，1只为犬恶丝虫和棘唇旋尾线虫，另1只为仅康氏棘唇线虫）。从25只犬恶丝虫阳性犬中的16只（64.0%）扩增出了沃尔巴克氏体属DNA。19只（8.3%）犬同时感染了婴儿利什曼原虫和犬恶丝虫，包括1只（0.4%）棘唇旋尾线虫阳性动物。在没有与利什曼病和/或恶丝虫病相符的临床症状的犬中，婴儿利什曼原虫的患病率为69%，而在那些至少有一项与这两种寄生虫病之一相符的临床表现的犬中，患病率为42.7%。在明显健康的杂种犬（77.2%）和宠物犬（76.9%）中，利什曼原虫的患病率分别显著高于纯种犬（包括杂交犬；58.8%）和具有非宠物用途（即农场、警卫、狩猎、放牧或流浪）的犬，而在那些至少有一项临床症状的犬中，雄性犬（53.3%）和未使用驱虫剂的犬（52.8%）中婴儿利什曼原虫DNA的检测率更高。
对一些可人畜共患的犬媒介传播疾病（CVBD）病原体的分子检测，强化了在这些病原体分布的地理区域实施有效预防措施的必要性，如使用驱虫剂和大环内酯类药物（包括遵守给药规定），以预防包括人类在内的哺乳动物宿主感染和患病。
