title: Detection of Leishmania infantum in captive wolves from Southwestern Europe.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of Leishmania infantum infection in a wild reservoir host (Canis lupus) throughout an endemic area for the disease (Southern Europe). For that reason, the serum and peripheral blood samples of 33 captive wolves from the European Breeding of Endangered Species Programme (EEP) were analyzed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). L. infantum was detected in three samples from Central Portugal and Central and Northern Spain. Even though L. infantum infection in positive samples was low, surveillance of zoonotic leishmaniosis in this population is recommended as the parasite load could be higher in other tissues due to parasite tropism and most of the EEP institutions studied are located in endemic areas for canine leishmaniosis in Europe.
authors.affiliation: Servei Veterinari de Genètica Molecular, Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. nj.sastre@gmail.com
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sastre
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Francino
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ramírez
authors.forename: Conrad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Enseñat
authors.forename: Armand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Altet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000469:parasitology; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance / Q000662:veterinary; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D019596:Wolves / Q000097:blood / Q000469:parasitology*