Feline Leishmania spp. Infection in a Non-Endemic Area of Northern Italy

Animals

Sonia Magistrelli¹  Germano Castelli²  Fabrizio Vitale²  Federica Bruno²  Gaia Tarantola³  Luciana Baggiani³  Eva Spada³  Daniela Proverbio³  Roberta Perego³ 

[1] Agenzia di Tutela della Salute di Milano (Dipartimento Veterinario), Corso Italia 19, 20122 Milan, Italy;Centro di Referenza Nazionale per le Leishmaniosi (C.Re.Na.L), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale (IZS) della Sicilia A. Mirri, Via G. Marinuzzi 3, 90129 Palermo, Italy;Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria (DIMEVET), Università degli Studi di Milan, via dell’Università 6, 26900 Lodi, Italy;

关键词: epidemiology;    feline;    indirect immunofluorescence test;    infection;    leishmaniosis;    Northern Italy;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ani10050817

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Feline leishmaniosis (FeL) is an emerging vector-borne feline disease, with increasing numbers of cases reported and studies performed internationally. This study aimed to update the epidemiological status for FeL in stray cats in Milan, northern Italy; compare these results with previous studies in Northern Italy; and report clinicopathologic findings and coinfections in cats infected with Leishmania spp. A total of 117 cats were tested for L. infantum and retrovirus infection, hematological, and biochemical parameters. Demographic and clinical data were collected and FeL affected cats screened for selected coinfections. Overall, 10/117 (8.6%) cats tested positive for L. infantum: in five cats L. infantum DNA was found in popliteal lymph nodes and five were IFAT seropositive at titers from 1:80 to 1:160. Infected cats were concentrated in a specific area of Milan (p = 0.0154). No specific clinicopathologic abnormalities or retroviral infections were significantly linked to the infection, other than hypergammaglobulinemia (p = 0.0127). Seroreactivity to Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Chlamydophila felis, and Toxoplasma gondii was found in some infected cats. A high prevalence of FeL was found in a non-endemic area of northern Italy and future studies should continually monitor this data to understand whether these cases are imported or if Leishmania vectors are present in this area.

【 授权许可】

Unknown