Iranian National Registry Center for Lophomoniasis (INRCL) and Toxoplasmosis (INRCT), School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
Vet Med Sci. 2022 Nov;8(6):2329-2336. doi: 10.1002/vms3.929. Epub 2022 Sep 5.
In recent years, cases of human visceral leishmaniasis (HVL) have been reported in some districts of Golestan Province, northeastern Iran, particularly in rural areas. Recent epidemiological evidence in Leishmania infantum endemic regions of in Iran indicates approximately 50%-80% of seropositive dogs are asymptomatic for Leishmania infection.
The goal in this study was to determine Leishmania species infecting domestic dogs in Golestan Province, Iran.
Between 2015 and 2016, blood samples were obtained from 100 domestic dogs in rural regions of Golestan Province, northeastern Iran. All samples were tested for anti-Leishmania antibodies using a direct agglutination test (DAT), and for Leishmania spp. kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) using PCR.
Seven (7%) dogs were antibody positive and 25 dogs (25%) were Leishmania spp. DNA positives by PCR positive for leishmaniasis. Four of the seven (71%) antibody-positive dogs and 19 of the 25 (76%) PCR-positive dogs were asymptomatic. The rate of infection detected by PCR was significantly higher in male dogs (21/75, 28%) than that in female dogs (4/25, 16%). The ITS1 PCR-RFLP assay identified the presence of L. infantum, L. tropica or Crithidia spp. in the 25 PCR-positive samples.
The high proportion of asymptomatic dogs in the study areas represent they act as potential reservoirs in the transmission cycle of Leishmania spp. and also Crithidia fasciculata as an emerging agent for the first time. Moreover, our data showed that PCR is a more reliable assay than DAT for detecting Leishmania spp. infection among asymptomatic dogs.
近年来，伊朗东北部戈勒斯坦省的一些地区报告了人类内脏利什曼病（HVL）病例，特别是在农村地区。伊朗利什曼原虫流行地区的最新流行病学证据表明，约 50%-80%的血清阳性犬对利什曼原虫感染无症状。
本研究旨在确定伊朗戈勒斯坦省感染家养犬的利什曼虫种。
2015 年至 2016 年期间，从伊朗东北部戈勒斯坦省农村地区采集了 100 只家养犬的血液样本。所有样本均采用直接凝集试验（DAT）检测抗利什曼原虫抗体，并采用 PCR 检测利什曼虫种动基体 DNA（kDNA）。
7（7%）只犬抗体阳性，25（25%）只犬 PCR 阳性，提示利什曼病。7 只抗体阳性犬中的 4 只（71%）和 25 只 PCR 阳性犬中的 19 只（76%）无症状。PCR 检测的感染率在雄性犬（21/75，28%）明显高于雌性犬（4/25，16%）。25 只 PCR 阳性样本中，ITS1 PCR-RFLP 检测鉴定出 L. infantum、L. tropica 或 Crithidia spp. 的存在。
研究地区无症状犬的比例较高，表明它们在利什曼虫种的传播循环中充当潜在的储存宿主，这也是首次发现 Crithidia fasciculata 作为一种新出现的病原体。此外，我们的数据表明，PCR 比 DAT 更能可靠地检测无症状犬的利什曼虫种感染。
