Serosurvey of Leishmania infantum in equids in different European countries

IF 2.2 2区农林科学 Q1 VETERINARY SCIENCES

Preventive veterinary medicine Pub Date : 2025-02-11 DOI:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106463

Jesús Barbero-Moyano , David Cano-Terriza , Moisés Gonzálvez , Inmaculada Moreno , Eduard Jose-Cunilleras , Francesco Buono , Vincenzo Veneziano , Eduardo Alguacil , Jesús García , Fabrizia Veronesi , María A. Risalde , Ignacio García-Bocanegra

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Leishmaniosis is a vector-borne and zoonotic disease with major sanitary implications at global scale. In Europe, Leishmania infantum is the only endemic etiologic agent, which has been previously reported in a wide range of mammal. However, the information about the role of equids in the L. infantum epidemiology is limited. We aimed to assess the seroprevalence and identify potential risk factors associated with L. infantum seropositivity in equine populations across several European countries. A total of 1364 equids, including 1005 horses, 240 donkeys and 119 mules/hinnies from Spain, Italy, United Kingdom and Ireland were sampled between 2011 and 2023. The overall seroprevalence of L. infantum was 9.8 % using indirect immunofluorescence test. A significant higher prevalence of anti-L. infantum antibodies was found in donkeys (27.9 %) and mules/hinnies (21.1 %) compared to horses (4.0 %). By country, significantly higher seropositivity was detected in equids from Italy (17.7 %; 70/395) compared to Spain (11.2 %; 63/561), while no positivity was found in animals from Ireland and UK. Our results indicate a moderate and heterogeneous spatial circulation of L. infantum in equids from southern Europe. The variable ‘species’ (donkeys and mules/hinnies) was identified as risk factor associated with L. infantum seropositivity. This survey constitutes the largest seroepidemiological study evaluating the circulation of L. infantum in equids at global scale. Additionally, we report for the first time L. infantum exposure in mules/hinnies in Europe. Our findings suggest the potential role of equids in the L. infantum epidemiological cycle in southern Europe and the need to implement specific surveillance programs in these species.

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来源期刊

Preventive veterinary medicine 农林科学-兽医学

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

7.70%

发文量

184

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Preventive Veterinary Medicine is one of the leading international resources for scientific reports on animal health programs and preventive veterinary medicine. The journal follows the guidelines for standardizing and strengthening the reporting of biomedical research which are available from the CONSORT, MOOSE, PRISMA, REFLECT, STARD, and STROBE statements. The journal focuses on: Epidemiology of health events relevant to domestic and wild animals; Economic impacts of epidemic and endemic animal and zoonotic diseases; Latest methods and approaches in veterinary epidemiology; Disease and infection control or eradication measures; The "One Health" concept and the relationships between veterinary medicine, human health, animal-production systems, and the environment; Development of new techniques in surveillance systems and diagnosis; Evaluation and control of diseases in animal populations.