title: Epidemiological Investigation of Asymptomatic Dogs withLeishmaniaInfection in Southwestern China Where Visceral Leishmaniasis is Intractable.
abstract: Heishui county, located in northwest Sichuan province, southwestern China, is an endemic area of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and is the most intractable area. VL is never destroyed in it. Asymptomatic dogs (Leishmaniaparasites have been diagnosed but clinically healthy) are considered to be a potential reservoir host in zoonotic VL area, and most can lead to infection of individuals, that is a new challenge for controlling VL in humans. The present study aimed to assess theLeishmaniainfection rate of asymptomatic dogs in Heishui county. Total 105 asymptomatic domestic dogs were gathered from 4 districts in Heishui county to investigate the infection rate with serological and molecular methods based on ELISA and kinetoplast minicircle DNA(kDNA) PCR, respectively. Out of 105 dogs, 44 (41.9%) were positive by more than 1 method; 21 (20.0%) were positive by ELISA, and 30 (28.6%) were positive by kDNA-PCR. Our study showed thatLeishmaniainfection of domestic dogs which is clinically healthy is prevalent in the studied district, and the asymptomatic dogs infected byLeishmaniamay be the primary reason for the prevalence of visceral leishmaniasis in the area.
authors.affiliation: Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jining, 272033, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Gui-Hua
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jining, 272033, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jining, 272033, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Wei-Xia
authors.initials: WX
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jining, 272033, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jining, 272033, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qing-Kuan
authors.initials: QK
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jining, 272033, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jining, 272033, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Gong-Zhen
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jining, 272033, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jining, 272033, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hong-Fa
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058345:Asymptomatic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012698:Serologic Tests
keywords: China; Leishmania; asymptomatic dog; epidemiology