A nationwide survey of < i > Leishmania infantum < /i > infection in cats and associated risk factors in Italy

by Roberta Iatta, Tommaso Furlanello, Vito Colella, Viviana Domenica Tarallo, Maria Stefania Latrofa, Emanuele Brianti, Paolo Trerotoli, Nicola Decaro, Eleonora Lorusso, Bettina Schunack, Guadalupe Mir ò, Filipe Dantas-Torres, Domenico Otranto Though scantly investigated,Leishmania infantum infection and clinical cases of leishmaniosis in cats have been recently reported in several countries of the Mediterranean basin, with large variability in prevalence data. A major limitation in the comparability of the data available is attributed to the differences in diagnostic techniques employed and cat populations sampled. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence ofL.infantum infection in owned cats across Italy by serological and molecular tests and identification of potential risk factors. Blood samples from 2,659 cats from northern (n = 1,543), central (n = 471) and southern (n = 645) Italy were tested for antibodies againstL.infantum, by an immunofluorescence antibody test and for the parasites ’ DNA, by real-time PCR. Samples were additionally screened for feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) proviral DNAs. An overall cumulativeL.infantum prevalence of 3.9% was recorded by serology (3.3%) and/or PCR (0.8%), with a higher rate (10.5%) in southern Italy. The risk ofL.infantum infection in cats was significantly associated to the geographical areas (Southvs North and Centre; p
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research