title: Identification of Leishmania donovani amastigotes in canine tissues by immunoperoxidase staining.
abstract: This paper describes the demonstration of Leishmania donovani amastigotes in canine tissues by immunoperoxidase staining. An indirect immunoperoxidase method was applied to the organs of 20 dogs in which leishmaniasis was previously diagnosed. Haemosiderin pigment was eliminated with 5 per cent oxalic acid. Amastigotes of L donovani appeared as dark brown stained bodies which contrasted with haematoxylin stained host cells. No positively stained amastigotes could be seen in any of the sections incubated with control serum. The organs which more frequently showed leishmanids were: skin (macrophages and fibroblasts), liver, spleen, lymph nodes and bone marrow. In a few cases amastigotes were seen in kidneys, gut, adrenal glands, eyes and testicles. This technique is simple to perform, gives consistent results and allows unequivocal histopathological diagnosis of canine leishmaniasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferrer
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Rabanal
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Domingo
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fondevila
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000469:parasitology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004285:Dogs; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000469:parasitology; D012867:Skin / Q000469:parasitology; D013154:Spleen / Q000469:parasitology