Canine leishmaniasis chemotherapy: dog's clinical condition and risk of Leishmania transmission.
The aim of this study was to investigate whether treatment against canine leishmaniasis reduced the presence of Leishmania in the healthy skin of dogs, affecting the capacity of parasite transmission. A total of 37 dogs from an endemic region of leishmaniasis were studied. Thirteen symptomatic animals revealed parasites in the bone marrow and eight had also in the skin. Five of the 22 dogs that had been treated with meglumine antimoniate alone, meglumine antimoniate or trifluralin followed by allopurinol or just with allopurinol had the parasite in bone marrow but none showed Leishmania in the skin. One dog that was treated only with aminosidine was polisymptomatic and had parasites in bone marrow and skin. The different treatments used in this study did not completely eliminate the parasite allowing relapses to occur when the treatment is discontinued, but the use of meglumine antimoniate or allopurinol, alone or combined may improve dogs clinical condition and reduce or eliminate the parasite from the skin decreasing the probability of Leishmania transmission.
João
A
A
Unidade de Leishmanioses e Centro de Malária e Outras Doenças Tropicais, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira 96, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal.
Pereira
M A
MA
Cortes
S
S
Santos-Gomes
G M
GM
D000493:Allopurinol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000469:parasitology; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000635:transmission*; D004285:Dogs; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D008536:Meglumine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077485:Meglumine Antimoniate; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012008:Recurrence; D012867:Skin / Q000469:parasitology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014274:Trifluralin / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D000493:Allopurinol; D008536:Meglumine; D000077485:Meglumine Antimoniate; D014274:Trifluralin