title: Leishmania (Viannia) infection in the domestic dog in Chaparral, Colombia.
abstract: Peridomestic transmission of American cutaneous leishmaniasis is increasingly reported and dogs may be a reservoir of Leishmania (Viannia) in this setting. We investigated the prevalence of infection in dogs in Chaparral County, Colombia, the focus of an epidemic of human cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis. Two (0.72%) of 279 dogs had lesions typical of cutaneous leishmaniasis that were biopsy positive by kinetoplast DNA polymerase chain reaction-Southern blotting. Seroprevalence was 2.2% (6 of 279) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Buffy coat and ear skin biopsy specimens were positive by polymerase chain reaction-Southern blotting in 7.3% (10 of 137) and 11.4% (12 of 105) of dogs, respectively. Overall 20% of dogs (21 of 105) showed positive results for one or more tests. Amplification and sequencing of the Leishmania 7SL RNA gene identified L. guyanensis in one dog and L. braziliensis in two dogs. No association was identified between the risk factors evaluated and canine infection. Dogs may contribute to transmission but their role in this focus appears to be limited.
authors.affiliation: Centro Internacional de Entrenamiento e Investigaciones Médicas, Cali, Colombia. julian.santaella@gmail.com
authors.forename: Julián
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santaella
authors.forename: Clara B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Ocampo
authors.forename: Nancy G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Saravia
authors.forename: Fabián
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Méndez
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Góngora
authors.forename: Maria Adelaida
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: Leonard E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Munstermann
authors.forename: Rupert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Quinnell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D017931:DNA Primers; D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast / Q000235:genetics; D004285:Dogs; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007891:Leishmania / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast