title: Cross-sectional serosurvey of feline leishmaniasis in ecoregions around the Northwestern Mediterranean.
abstract: A cross-sectional serosurvey using Leishmania infantum ELISA was performed on 445 cats living in ecoregions around the Northwestern Mediterranean basin; 58 cats from an area of the US where leishmaniasis is not endemic were used as negative controls. ELISA results were further confirmed in 69 cats by Western blot (WB). Finally, 76 of them were also tested for FeLV and FIV. Seroprevalence by ELISA-prot A was 6.29%, and that by ELISA-IgG was 5.25%. Positive cat sera recognized patterns of polypeptides in WB, including L. infantum-specific antigenic fractions. There was no association with retroviruses. Leishmania-specific antibodies are prevalent in cats living in ecoregions around the Northwestern Mediterranean basin; thus, leishmaniasis must be included in the differential diagnosis of diseases in cats living in these ecoregions. Their role as peridomestic reservoirs for L. infantum needs further characterization, but it could be hypothesized that the cat is a secondary reservoir host, rather than an accidental one.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Farmacologia, Terapèutica i Toxicologia and Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain.
authors.forename: Laia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Solano-Gallego
authors.forename: Alhelí
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Cortés
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iniesta
authors.forename: Josefina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Quintana
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pastor
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Espada
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Portús
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alberola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002415:Cats; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D016089:Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline / Q000276:immunology; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005256:Leukemia Virus, Feline / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D019083:Mediterranean Region / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral