Logo image
Back
Dogs as Reservoirs for Leishmania donovani, Bihar, India, 2018-2022
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Dogs as Reservoirs for Leishmania donovani, Bihar, India, 2018-2022

Anurag Kumar Kushwaha, Ashish Shukla, Breanna M Scorza, Rahul Chaubey, Dharmendra Kumar Maurya, Tulika Kumari Rai, Shyamali Yaduvanshi, Shweta Srivastava, Gaetano Oliva, Epke A Le Rutte, …
Emerging infectious diseases, Vol.30(12), pp.2604-2613
12/01/2024
DOI: 10.3201/eid3012.240649
PMCID: PMC11616638
PMID: 39592395
url
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3012.240649View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis derived from Leishmania donovani is transmitted by sand flies (Phlebotomus argentipes) throughout the Indian subcontinent. Although considered anthroponotic, L. donovani infects other mammals susceptible to sand fly bites, including dogs. Aggressive strategies to reduce sand fly populations in India have led to flies seeking nonhuman hosts, so understanding the role of dogs in L. donovani transmission has become critical. Our study investigated L. donovani infection in dogs and the potential for such infections to be transmitted back to sand flies. We performed xenodiagnosis by using P. argentipes on dogs (n = 73) with quantitative PCR-detectible parasitemia in both endemic and outbreak villages. We found that 12% (9/73) of dogs were infectious to sand flies during winter and rainy seasons. Patients with visceral leishmaniasis remain primary sources of L. donovani transmission, but our findings suggest a possible link between canine infection and human exposure.Visceral leishmaniasis derived from Leishmania donovani is transmitted by sand flies (Phlebotomus argentipes) throughout the Indian subcontinent. Although considered anthroponotic, L. donovani infects other mammals susceptible to sand fly bites, including dogs. Aggressive strategies to reduce sand fly populations in India have led to flies seeking nonhuman hosts, so understanding the role of dogs in L. donovani transmission has become critical. Our study investigated L. donovani infection in dogs and the potential for such infections to be transmitted back to sand flies. We performed xenodiagnosis by using P. argentipes on dogs (n = 73) with quantitative PCR-detectible parasitemia in both endemic and outbreak villages. We found that 12% (9/73) of dogs were infectious to sand flies during winter and rainy seasons. Patients with visceral leishmaniasis remain primary sources of L. donovani transmission, but our findings suggest a possible link between canine infection and human exposure.

Details

Metrics

4 Record Views
Logo image