OBJECTIVES

The average seroprevalence of the canine leishmaniosis in Spain is from the 1 to 3%, although it variates among regions of 6% in the county of Granada to overcome 15% in endemic areas of the island of Mallorca, Leishmania infantum is the only etiologic agent of the illness in Spain being the dog the main reservoir. The seroprevalence of the canine Leishmaniosis in Aragon varies among districts from 4% in Teruel until 9% in Zaragoza, existing areas in the Somontano of Huesca where this illness reaches 35%.

There are many ways of diagnosing this illness, however their sensibility and specificity as well as their cost benefit is extremely variable.

The ambiguity of the symptoms and the difficulties in the diagnosis force to the adoption of sensitive, specific, simple, economic diagnosing methods, and that they can also be developed under field conditions.

With the present work our objective is, besides carrying out an epidemic study in a district that seems to present a number of cases of important canine Leishmania, to value three technical serodiagnostics (DAT, IFI , KIT) to observe if significant differences exist among them when evaluating the results.

MATERIALS

On a total of approximately 1000 present dogs in the district of Ejea samples of blood of 150 animals taken, apart from of stuffing an epidemic questionnaire and a clinical exam of them. For the diagnosis of Leishmania it was used the technique of DAT, IFI and a commercial KIT. For the realization of the technical DAT we use two types of stumps different from Leishmania for the obtaining of the antigen, on one hand the stump Leishmania infantum and on the other Leishmania peruviana.

The epidemic questionnaire presented among other data the sex, habitat, age, layer type and color; besides a clinical exam of the dog for the observation of typical symptoms of the illness.

RESULTS

 Of the 150 examined dogs 21 went positive to DAT L. infantum (1/800), 21 to DAT L. peruviana (1/800), 19 to IFI (1/160) and 15 with the commercial KIT.

 33% of the positive dogs presented the typical symptoms of Leishmania, being inflammation of ganglion poplíteos and lesions in skin the most frequent ones.

 The main opposing factors of risk for the development of the illness were hunt dogs that inhabited corrals in the open air.

CONCLUSION

The Seroprevalence of canine Leishmaniosis in the district of Ejea is of 14%.

 The main factor of risk is the habitat of the dog, being those that inhabit corrals the most exposed to contract the illness.

 33% of the positive dogs presented symptoms that which make us observe the importance of the animal asymptomatic like reservoirs of the illness.

 The two types of stump of Leishmania used for the realization of the DAT showed similar results.

 The DAT is a very advantageous technique for the realization of epidemic studios of canine Leishmania.