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A survey on canine leishmaniasis and phlebotomine sand flies in central Italy

2009; Elsevier BV; Volume: 87; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.rvsc.2008.11.009

1532-2661

Carmen Maresca, Eleonora Scoccia, Fulvio Barizzone, A. Catalano, Silvia Mancini, T. Pagliacci, Massimiliano Porrini, Mario Antonello Principato, G Venditti, V. Grelloni,

Viral Infections and Vectors

Zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) is a vector-transmitted zoonosis caused by the parasitic protozoan Leishmania infantum. Bloodsucking sand flies of the subfamily Phlebotominae are the obligatory insect hosts, and the dog is the only domestic reservoir. This study reports data from a survey of canine infection and sand fly phlebotomine monitoring in the province of Perugia in central Italy. The overall seroprevalence in a total of 100 dogs tested was 8% (95% confidence interval: 3.8-15.6%). Data analysis revealed that serological positivity was statistically associated with age (p-value=0.03) and the area where dogs lived. Standard blacklight traps employed for sampling Culicoides midges in bluetongue disease surveillance were used in phlebotomine monitoring. A total of 5698 sand flies were collected and the two species, Leishmania competent vectors, were identified, Phlebotomus perfiliewi (50%) and Phlebotomus perniciosus (30%).