title: Variations in seroprevalences of canine leishmaniasis: Could it be a consequence of the population structure?
abstract: Canine leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by Leishmania infantum and is transmitted by Phlebotominae vectors. Despite numerous publications on the subject, some essential aspects of the epidemiology are not yet sufficiently clear. We proposed a stochastic model with the aim of identifying some important gaps in the current knowledge of leishmaniasis, such as the frequency of vector infection or a dog's life expectancy depending on their purpose and their health status. We only found that the purpose was a significant factor. Furthermore, we detected relationships among age, gender and habitat with the dogs' purposes that can affect the calculation of the overall seroprevalence of the analysed sample. The development of this model will allow us to discard potential confounding factors as gender, age, purpose or habitat.
authors: Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2) (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), c/Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: animuni@unizar.es.
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Muniesa
authors: Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2) (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), c/Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Peris
authors: Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2) (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), c/Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
authors: Juan Antonio
authors: JA
authors: Castillo
authors: Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (IA2) (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), c/Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
authors: Ignacio
authors: I
authors: de Blas
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003198:Computer Simulation; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007891:Leishmania / Q000276:immunology*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D012424:Rural Population; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan
keywords: Epidemiology; Leishmania infantum; Modelling; Population dynamics; Seroprevalence