Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
J Vector Borne Dis. 2021 Jul-Sep;58(3):213-218. doi: 10.4103/0972-9062.325636.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL),a protozoan disease caused by Leishmania infantum is a major public health problem and cause of death among infants aged under 1 year and the elderly in endemic foci of Iran. The aim of this study is to determine the status of L.infantum infection in stray dogs from Meshkin-Shahr, a typical endemic area of VL in Iran.
Sixty-eight randomly trapped stray dogs in Meshkin-Shahr area were tested for L. infantum infection using the direct agglutination test (DAT) from June to October 2016. The confirmation of seropositive samples was performed by Microscopic slides of spleen, culture and then PCR. The molecular methods performed by ITS1-PCR, RFLP-PCR and kDNA-PCR. The allof kDNA -PCR products were sequenced.
Out of 68 examined stray dogs, 17 (25.0%) were positive for L. infantum by DAT (1:320 titers or higher). Parasite test showed that all of seropositive samples have amastigote forms in their spleens but only 3 out of them could be cultured. The kDNA-PCR confirmed all of seropositive samples but ITS1-PCR and RFLP-PCR only confirmed 3 out of 17 (17.6%) seropositive samples. The sequenced products showed 94% homology with L. infantum.
INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The results showed a high prevalence of L. infantum infection in dogs in an endemic area of CVL and it provided key information for designing control programs against canine and human leishmaniasis.
内脏利什曼病（VL）是一种由利什曼原虫引起的原生动物疾病，是伊朗流行地区 1 岁以下婴儿和老年人的主要公共卫生问题和死亡原因。本研究旨在确定伊朗 VL 典型流行地区 Meshkin-Shahr 流浪狗中 L.infantum 感染的状况。
2016 年 6 月至 10 月，采用直接凝集试验（DAT）检测 Meshkin-Shahr 地区 68 只随机捕获的流浪狗是否感染 L.infantum。通过脾脏显微镜载玻片、培养和 PCR 确认血清阳性样本。采用 ITS1-PCR、RFLP-PCR 和 kDNA-PCR 进行分子方法检测。对所有 kDNA-PCR 产物进行测序。
在 68 只检查的流浪狗中，17 只（25.0%）DAT（1:320 滴度或更高）阳性。寄生虫检测显示，所有血清阳性样本的脾脏中均有无鞭毛体形式，但只有 3 只可培养。kDNA-PCR 证实了所有血清阳性样本，但 ITS1-PCR 和 RFLP-PCR 仅证实了 17 个血清阳性样本中的 3 个（17.6%）。测序产物与 L.infantum 具有 94%的同源性。
结果表明，在 CVL 流行地区，狗中 L.infantum 感染的流行率很高，为设计针对犬和人类利什曼病的控制计划提供了关键信息。
