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Seroprevalence of canine leishmaniosis and environmental change
Veterinary Parasitology 169 (2010) 415
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Veterinary Parasitology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/vetpar
Letter to the Editor Seroprevalence of canine leishmaniosis and environmental change Editor, I read the recent publication by Ga´lvez et al. (2010) on emerging trends in the seroprevalence of canine leishmaniosis with a great interest Ga´lvez et al. concluded that ‘‘Given that this increasing trend cannot be attributed to differences in the sociodemographic characteristics of the dog populations, it is proposed that environmental changes could have had an impact on vector and reservoir densities and their geographical distributions.’’ Previously, there is a report from Spain (Miro´ et al., 2007) that the seroprevalence did not relate to breed and sex but to the probability of exposure to the bite of sand flies infected with Leishmania infantum increased with age. Nevertheless, Dujardin et al. (2008) reported that drugresistant parasite strains might be exported outside Europe through dogs. Indeed, the difference in seroprevalence of leishmaniosis can be due to many reasons and Ga´lvez et al. pointed to an interesting hypothesis on environmental changes. The proof should be further done by giving the correlation study to the environmental parameters (such as temperature, humidity, etc.). Indeed, the effect of environmental changes on vector borne diseases has been mentioned for years. Recently, Ready
0304-4017/$ – see front matter ß 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2010.01.027
(2008) reported that ‘‘A positive association has been ˜ o cycle and the annual reported between the El Nin incidence of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazi’’ and mentioned for the need of surveillance and research for European situation. References ˜ avate, C., Dedet, J.P., Gradoni, L., Soteriadou, Dujardin, J.C., Campino, L., Can K., Mazeris, A., Ozbel, Y., Boelaert, M., 2008. Spread of vector-borne diseases and neglect of Leishmaniasis. Europe. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 14 (July (7)), 1013–1018. Ga´lvez, R., Miro´, G., Descalzo, M.A., Nieto, J., Dado, D., Martı´n, O., Cubero, E., Molina, R., 2010. Emerging trends in the seroprevalence of canine leishmaniosis in the Madrid region (central Spain). Vet. Parasitol. 169, 327–334. Miro´, G., Montoya, A., Mateo, M., Alonso, A., Garcı´a, S., Garcı´a, A., Caballero, M.J., Molina, R., 2007. A leishmaniosis surveillance system among stray dogs in the region of Madrid: ten years of serodiagnosis (1996– 2006). Parasitol. Res. 101 (July (2)), 253–257. Ready, P.D., 2008. Leishmaniasis emergence and climate change. Rev. Sci. Technol. 27 (August (2)), 399–412.
Viroj Wiwanitkit* Wiwanitkit House, Bangkhae, Bangkok 10160, Thailand *Tel.: +66 24132436 E-mail address: [email protected] (V. Wiwanitkit)
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Veterinary Parasitology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/vetpar
Letter to the Editor Seroprevalence of canine leishmaniosis and environmental change Editor, I read the recent publication by Ga´lvez et al. (2010) on emerging trends in the seroprevalence of canine leishmaniosis with a great interest Ga´lvez et al. concluded that ‘‘Given that this increasing trend cannot be attributed to differences in the sociodemographic characteristics of the dog populations, it is proposed that environmental changes could have had an impact on vector and reservoir densities and their geographical distributions.’’ Previously, there is a report from Spain (Miro´ et al., 2007) that the seroprevalence did not relate to breed and sex but to the probability of exposure to the bite of sand flies infected with Leishmania infantum increased with age. Nevertheless, Dujardin et al. (2008) reported that drugresistant parasite strains might be exported outside Europe through dogs. Indeed, the difference in seroprevalence of leishmaniosis can be due to many reasons and Ga´lvez et al. pointed to an interesting hypothesis on environmental changes. The proof should be further done by giving the correlation study to the environmental parameters (such as temperature, humidity, etc.). Indeed, the effect of environmental changes on vector borne diseases has been mentioned for years. Recently, Ready
0304-4017/$ – see front matter ß 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2010.01.027
(2008) reported that ‘‘A positive association has been ˜ o cycle and the annual reported between the El Nin incidence of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazi’’ and mentioned for the need of surveillance and research for European situation. References ˜ avate, C., Dedet, J.P., Gradoni, L., Soteriadou, Dujardin, J.C., Campino, L., Can K., Mazeris, A., Ozbel, Y., Boelaert, M., 2008. Spread of vector-borne diseases and neglect of Leishmaniasis. Europe. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 14 (July (7)), 1013–1018. Ga´lvez, R., Miro´, G., Descalzo, M.A., Nieto, J., Dado, D., Martı´n, O., Cubero, E., Molina, R., 2010. Emerging trends in the seroprevalence of canine leishmaniosis in the Madrid region (central Spain). Vet. Parasitol. 169, 327–334. Miro´, G., Montoya, A., Mateo, M., Alonso, A., Garcı´a, S., Garcı´a, A., Caballero, M.J., Molina, R., 2007. A leishmaniosis surveillance system among stray dogs in the region of Madrid: ten years of serodiagnosis (1996– 2006). Parasitol. Res. 101 (July (2)), 253–257. Ready, P.D., 2008. Leishmaniasis emergence and climate change. Rev. Sci. Technol. 27 (August (2)), 399–412.
Viroj Wiwanitkit* Wiwanitkit House, Bangkhae, Bangkok 10160, Thailand *Tel.: +66 24132436 E-mail address: [email protected] (V. Wiwanitkit)