Antibodies anti-trypanosomatides in domestic cats in Paraná: who is at highest risk of infection?

Abstract The aim of this study were to detect antibodies anti-Leishmania spp. and anti-Trypanosoma cruzi in two different populations of domestic cats (Felis catus domesticus) from North Paraná referred for surgical castration and to determine which characteristics of the animals studied may be associated with seropositivity. Serum samples from 679 cats were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) in series. Associations between age, sex, race, year of care and animal group were verified using the simple logistic regression. Percentage of 8.5% (58/679) of cats were positive for Leishmania spp. and 7.6% (51/673) for T. cruzi by the tests ELISA and IFAT. Animals collected by non-governmental animal protection organizations presented more seropositivity for Leishmania spp. (p<0.0001). Results shown that Leishmania spp. and T. cruzi are present in domestic cats in the northern part of the state of Paraná, as well as, owners of non-governmental animal protection organizations may be more exposed to leishmaniasis when compared to other animal owners evaluated in the present study.

摘要 本研究旨在检测来自巴拉那州北部、接受手术绝育的两群家猫（Felis catus domesticus）血清中的抗莱什曼原虫属（Leishmania spp.）抗体与抗克氏锥虫（Trypanosoma cruzi）抗体，并明确受试家猫的哪些特征与血清阳性结果存在关联。研究依次采用酶联免疫吸附试验（enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA）与间接免疫荧光抗体试验（indirect immunofluorescence antibody test, IFAT），对679份家猫血清样本进行了检测。通过简单逻辑回归分析，验证了家猫的年龄、性别、品种、就诊年份及所属组别等特征与血清阳性结果的相关性。检测结果显示，经ELISA与IFAT联合检测，8.5%（58/679）的家猫莱什曼原虫属检测呈阳性，7.6%（51/673）的家猫克氏锥虫检测呈阳性。由非政府动物保护组织收容的家猫，其莱什曼原虫属血清阳性率显著更高（p<0.0001）。本研究结果表明，巴拉那州北部的家猫中存在莱什曼原虫属与克氏锥虫感染；同时，相较于本研究中其他宠物主人，非政府动物保护组织的相关人员可能面临更高的利什曼病暴露风险。