Detection of Leishmania infantum by real-time PCR in a canine blood bank.
OBJECTIVE
Risk for transmission of Leishmania infantum from blood products has been largely demonstrated in human and veterinary literature. Appropriate screening of canine blood donors is important especially in an endemic area such as Barcelona (Spain). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of L infantum DNA parasites by real-time quantitative PCR in our canine blood bank.


METHODS
Samples from blood products obtained from 92 canine blood donors were assayed for L infantum by means of real-time PCR amplification and quantification.


RESULTS
The prevalence of quantitative PCR-positive blood samples among healthy seronegative blood donors was 19.6 per cent.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study show that L infantum infection is common in canine blood donors and their blood products in an endemic area, despite a negative commercial serological screening for infectious diseases. Therefore, screening by PCR should be included in an integrated approach to evaluate L infantum infection among potential blood donors.
Tabar
M D
MD
Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Roura
X
X
Francino
O
O
Altet
L
L
Ruiz de Gopegui
R
R
D000818:Animals; D001771:Blood Banks / Q000592:standards*; D001782:Blood Donors; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000635:transmission; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000097:blood / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence