Checa Rocío, Sánchez-Vizcaíno Fernando, Miró Guadalupe, Pinchbeck Gina, Jones Hayley, Noble Peter-John, Radford Alan David
Microbiology and Parasitology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad Complutense of Madrid, Pl. de Ramón y Cajal s/n, Madrid 28040, Spain.
Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, University of Bristol, BS40 5DU Langford Campus, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Vet Parasitol. 2025 Jan;333:110350. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2024.110350. Epub 2024 Nov 10.
Dogs infected with Leishmania infantum have been increasingly reported in the UK mostly related to imported/travelled dogs. Up-to-date epidemiologic data are essential for a better control of this zoonotic disease in such emerging areas. This study aimed for the first time, to estimate the percentage and temporal variation of dog and cat samples testing positive for L. infantum infection at commercial diagnostic laboratories, and to describe the travel history of positive dogs and cats positive to leishmaniosis in a network of UK veterinary practices. Leishmania infantum serology and PCR data were collected by the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET) from five UK national veterinary diagnostic laboratories between 2010 and 2022 and were analysed. In addition, electronic health records (EHRs) were collected from 251 veterinary practices across the UK between March 2014 and September 2022. Text mining tools were used to identify cases compatible with clinical leishmaniosis as recorded in the clinical narratives; these were subsequently manually validated. Data from a total of 25,327 diagnostic samples (25,201 from dogs and 126 from cats) were analysed including 20,517 sera tested by either quantitative ELISA or IFAT, and 4810 by PCR. Leishmania infantum antibodies were detected in 39.7 % of tested dog samples and 1.07 % of cat samples. In dogs, seropositivity increased from 2013 to 2022. Leishmania DNA was only detected by PCR in samples from dogs (11.8 %). A total of 368 dogs with canine leishmaniosis (CanL) were identified from clinical narratives. Of these, 189 had either visited, or were rescued/imported from, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and other southern European countries. Among factors associated with CanL in the UK canine population, dogs between 3 and 6 years of age were 4.71 times more likely to have CanL than those two years or younger. In addition, there was an increased risk of having recorded CanL clinical cases from 2017 to 2022, compared to 2014. Southeast of England was the UK region that accounted for the highest number of CanL cases (34.51 %). This study provides recent trends in Leishmania infection in dogs in the UK, identifies risk factors and countries likely associated with imported cases, and provides important insights to help plan and monitor national intervention strategies.
在英国，感染婴儿利什曼原虫的犬只报告越来越多，大多与进口/旅行过的犬只有关。最新的流行病学数据对于在这些新兴地区更好地控制这种人畜共患病至关重要。本研究首次旨在估计商业诊断实验室检测出婴儿利什曼原虫感染呈阳性的犬猫样本的百分比和时间变化，并描述英国兽医诊所网络中利什曼病呈阳性的犬猫的旅行史。2010年至2022年期间，小动物兽医监测网络（SAVSNET）从英国五个国家兽医诊断实验室收集了婴儿利什曼原虫血清学和PCR数据，并进行了分析。此外，2014年3月至2022年9月期间，从英国各地251家兽医诊所收集了电子健康记录（EHR）。使用文本挖掘工具识别临床记录中与临床利什曼病相符的病例；随后进行人工验证。共分析了25327份诊断样本的数据（25201份来自犬只，126份来自猫），包括20517份通过定量ELISA或IFAT检测的血清样本，以及4810份通过PCR检测的样本。在检测的犬只样本中，39.7%检测出婴儿利什曼原虫抗体，猫样本中为1.07%。在犬只中，血清阳性率从2013年到2022年有所上升。仅在犬只样本中通过PCR检测到利什曼原虫DNA（11.8%）。从临床记录中识别出368例患有犬利什曼病（CanL）的犬只。其中，189只曾访问过或从西班牙、希腊、塞浦路斯和其他南欧国家获救/进口。在英国犬类群体中与CanL相关的因素中，3至6岁的犬只患CanL的可能性是两岁及以下犬只的4.71倍。此外，与2014年相比，2017年至2022年记录到CanL临床病例的风险有所增加。英格兰东南部是英国CanL病例数最多的地区（34.51%）。本研究提供了英国犬只中利什曼原虫感染的最新趋势，确定了风险因素以及可能与输入病例相关的国家，并为帮助规划和监测国家干预策略提供了重要见解。
