Isolation of Leishmania from a newborn puppy

402 TRANSACTIONS OF THEROYAL SOCIETY OF TROPICALMEDICINEANDHPGIENE (1995) 89, 402

/ShortReport Isolation newborn

of Leishmania puppy

from a

Three months after injection the hamsters were killed. At necropsy, considerable hepatosplenomegaly was revealed, and amastigotes were seen in smears from liver and spleen. Cultures from the spleen and liver were positive after 8 d, while those from the mesenteric lymph nodes were positive only after one passage. These observations suggest the-possibility of congenital infection.

The uuuoies were bred in an area which

Francesca Manciantil and Sabrina Sozzi2 ‘Dipartimento di Patologia Animal!, 2Istituto di Patologia Speciale e Clinica Medica Vetermaria, Universiti2 di Piss, I-56100Pisa, Italy

was not endemic fo> l&hmaniasis, and in which Phlebotominae have never been detected. The route of infection might have been acrossthe placenta, by means of lesions

Keywords: leishmaniasis, Leishmania infanturn, canine infection, congenital transmission

turition seemsto be most probable, becauseinfection by colostrum has never been reported and the characteristics

Congenital kala-azar has been occasionally reported in children born from mothers infected with Leishmania donovani in endemic areas (LOW & COOKE, 1926; ELAMIN & OMER. 1992) and bv L. infantum in France

1984). In animals direct transmission of the parasites has been reported only in hamsters experimentally infected with L. donovani (by BOSSIE & LUPASCO, 1966)and in Balbic mice inoculated with (BLANC

L.

&

ROB_:,

major (by

NUVARYRI-SALTI

&

FALLAH-KANSA,

1985). Intra-uterine infection has never been reported in naturally infected animals. In this paper we report the probable intrauterine infec-

tion of a 4 d old puppy born to a 4 years old bitch with chronic leishmaniasis, who whelped 3 puppies which died within a week of birth. The mother was one of a cohort of dogs kept in kennels at the Department of Animal Pathology of the University of Pisa, Italy, for a study on the pathogenesis of leishmaniasis. Leishmania infection was proven both by indirect immunofluorescence

assay (IFA) (specific antibody titre l/640), and by the culture of popliteal lymph node biopsies in EMTM medium (EVANS, 1978). The isolate was identified as L. infantum zymodeme 1 by isoenzyme electrophoresis at the Istituto Superiore di Sanita (Rome, Italy). When the animal became pregnant it had been infected for at least 2 years. The bitch originally came from the focus on the

during parturition, or by ingestion of infected colostrum. Passage of the parasite through microlesions during parof the canine placenta make intrauterine transmission unlikely. The isolation of Leishmania from the puppy does not

indicate that, had it survived, it would have developed diseaseor even maintained its infection. In endemic foci asymptomatic

dogs, seropositive after the transmission

season,may subsequently become seronegative (POZIO et al,., 1981). However, the occurrence of transmission without involving a sandfly suggests that control measures against canine leishmaniasis in endemic areas should be re-examined. Parasitological examination of animals born to infected mothers outside the transmission seasonmight be advisable, to estimate the prevalence of congenital transmission. References Blanc, Ch. & Robert, A. (1984). Cinquiitme observation de kalaazar congenital. La Presse Medicale, 13, 1751. Bossie, A. & Lupasco, G. L. (1969). Transmission du parasite de la mere an foetus dans l’infection exp6rimentale avec Leishmania donovani du hamster dare (Mesocricetus auratus). Archives Roumaines de Pathologie Exp&imentale biologie, 428,49-55.

et de Micro-

Elamin, A. & Omer, M. I. A. (1992). Visceral leishmaniasis in a 6-week-old infant: possible congenital transmission. Tropical Doctor, 22,133-135.

inoculation, and if none was seen the cultures were passaged‘blind’ on day 10.

Evans, D. A. (1978). Kinetoplastida. In: Methods of Cultivating Parasites in vitro, Taylor, A. E. R. & Baker, J. R. (editors). London: Academic Press, pp. 55-58. Gradoni, L., Gramiccia, M., Mancianti, F. & Pieri, S. (1988). Studies on canine leishmaniasis control. 2. Effectiveness of control measures against canine leishmaniasis in the Isle of Elba, Italy. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 82,568-571. Low, G. C. & Cooke, W. E. (1926). A congenital case of kalaazar. Lancet, ii, 1209-1211. Mancianti, F., Gradoni, L., Gramiccia, M.? Marconcini, A. & Pieri, S. (1986). Canine leishmaniasis m the Isle of Elba (Italy). Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 37, 1l&l 12. Nuvayri-Salti, N. & Fallah-Kansa, H. (1985). Direct noninsect-vector transmission of Leishmania parasites in mice. InternationalJournalfor Parasitology, 15,497-500. Pozio, E., Gradoni, L., Bettini, S. & Gramiccia, M. (1981). Leishmaniasis in Tuscany (Italy). VI. Canine leishmaniasis in the focus of Monte Argentario (Grosseto). Acta Tropica, 38,383-393.

Address for correspondence: Dr Francesca Mancianti, Dipartimento di Patologia Animale, Viale delle I’iagge 2, I-56100, Piss, Italy.

Received 15 February March 199.5

Isle of Elba (MANCIANTI et al., 1986) and had been checked for specific anti-Leishmania antibody by IFA

every year, before the beginning of the transmission season (GRADONI et al., 1988). The animal was oligosymptomatic, with moderate lymph node enlargement. The 3 puppies appeared to be weak and died a few days after birth. At necropsy they showed no sign of leishmaniasis, except for moderate enlargement of the liver and spleen. Liver, spleen and mesenteric lymph

node specimens from one of them were homogenized in normal saline (0.15 M NaC1). The suspensions were injected intraperitoneally to 2 hamsters, and inoculated into EMTM and incubated at 22°C. The cultures were examined daily for promastigotes from the 5th day after

1995; accepted for publication

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