TY - JOUR
T1 - Cross-sectional serosurvey of feline leishmaniasis in ecoregions around the Northwestern Mediterranean
AU - Solano-Gallego, Laia
AU - Rodríguez-Cortés, Alhelí
AU - Iniesta, Laura
AU - Quintana, Josefina
AU - Pastor, Joseph
AU - Espada, Yvonne
AU - Portús, Montserrat
AU - Alberola, Jordi
PY - 2007/1/1
Y1 - 2007/1/1
N2 - A cross-sectional serosurvey using Leishmania infantum ELISA was performed on 445 cats living in ecoregions around the Northwestern Mediterranean basin; 58 cats from an area of the US where leishmaniasis is not endemic were used as negative controls. ELISA results were further confirmed in 69 cats by Western blot (WB). Finally, 76 of them were also tested for FeLV and FIV. Seroprevalence by ELISA-prot A was 6.29%, and that by ELISA-IgG was 5.25%. Positive cat sera recognized patterns of polypeptides in WB, including L. infantum-specific antigenic fractions. There was no association with retroviruses. Leishmania-specific antibodies are prevalent in cats living in ecoregions around the Northwestern Mediterranean basin; thus, leishmaniasis must be included in the differential diagnosis of diseases in cats living in these ecoregions. Their role as peridomestic reservoirs for L. infantum needs further characterization, but it could be hypothesized that the cat is a secondary reservoir host, rather than an accidental one. Copyright © 2007 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
AB - A cross-sectional serosurvey using Leishmania infantum ELISA was performed on 445 cats living in ecoregions around the Northwestern Mediterranean basin; 58 cats from an area of the US where leishmaniasis is not endemic were used as negative controls. ELISA results were further confirmed in 69 cats by Western blot (WB). Finally, 76 of them were also tested for FeLV and FIV. Seroprevalence by ELISA-prot A was 6.29%, and that by ELISA-IgG was 5.25%. Positive cat sera recognized patterns of polypeptides in WB, including L. infantum-specific antigenic fractions. There was no association with retroviruses. Leishmania-specific antibodies are prevalent in cats living in ecoregions around the Northwestern Mediterranean basin; thus, leishmaniasis must be included in the differential diagnosis of diseases in cats living in these ecoregions. Their role as peridomestic reservoirs for L. infantum needs further characterization, but it could be hypothesized that the cat is a secondary reservoir host, rather than an accidental one. Copyright © 2007 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/34249731948
M3 - Article
SN - 0002-9637
VL - 76
SP - 676
EP - 680
JO - American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
JF - American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
IS - 4
ER -