Detection of specific antibodies against Leishmania infantum in canine serum and oral transudate using an in-house ELISA.

Background: Canine leishmaniosis caused by the protozoan Leishmania infantum is a complex infection due to its variable clinical signs and laboratory findings. Therefore, a broad range of techniques is available for diagnosis. Testing for specific antibodies in serum is the most commonly used technique, although the testing of other body fluids, such as oral transudate (OT), can be an alternative as its collection is non-invasive and testing can be performed by untrained personnel.

Prospective serological and molecular cross-sectional study focusing on Bartonella and other blood-borne organisms in cats from Catalonia (Spain).

Background: There is limited clinical or epidemiological knowledge regarding Bartonella infection in cats, and no serological studies have compared the presence of antibodies against different Bartonella species. Moreover, there are limited feline Bartonella studies investigating co-infections with other vector-borne pathogens and the associated risk factors. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate Bartonella spp.

Antibodies in Serum and Oral Fluid Specimens from Cats.

Cats are the primary reservoir host for ), an etiological agent of human bartonellosis, including cat scratch disease. Although DNA has been amplified from salivary swabs from cats, dogs and humans, we are not aware of studies investigating antibodies in oral fluid (OF). Using inhouse and commercial immunofluorescence antibody assays (IFA), the objective of this study was to detect and compare antibodies against in paired OF and serum specimens from cats.

Total serum IgD from healthy and sick dogs with leishmaniosis.

Background: Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) due to Leishmania infantum is characterized by the development of both cellular and humoral immune responses. The dysfunction of T cell-mediated immunity leads to a lack of proliferation of T cells in response to Leishmania antigens with the consequence of parasite dissemination that seems to be related to a T cell exhaustion mediated by regulatory B cells expressing immunoglobulin D (IgD). The aim of this study was to determine and compare the total serum IgD in dogs with clinical leishmaniosis and in clinically healthy dogs.

Bartonella infections in cats and dogs including zoonotic aspects.

Bartonellosis is a vector-borne zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution that can infect humans and a large number of mammals including small companion animals (cats and dogs). In recent years, an increasing number of studies from around the world have reported Bartonella infections, although publications have predominantly focused on the North American perspective. Currently, clinico-pathological data from Europe are more limited, suggesting that bartonellosis may be an infrequent or underdiagnosed infectious disease in cats and dogs.

Does co-infection with vector-borne pathogens play a role in clinical canine leishmaniosis?

Background: The severity of canine leishmaniosis (CanL) due to Leishmania infantum might be affected by other vector-borne organisms that mimic its clinical signs and clinicopathological abnormalities. The aim of this study was to determine co-infections with other vector-borne pathogens based on serological and molecular techniques in dogs with clinical leishmaniosis living in Spain and to associate them with clinical signs and clinicopathological abnormalities as well as disease severity.

Methods: Sixty-one dogs with clinical leishmaniosis and 16 apparently healthy dogs were tested for Rickettsia conorii, Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Bartonella henselae antigens by the immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and for E.

The inflammatory cytokine effect of Pam3CSK4 TLR2 agonist alone or in combination with Leishmania infantum antigen on ex-vivo whole blood from sick and resistant dogs.

Background: A wide spectrum of clinical manifestations and immune responses exist in canine L. infantum infection. Ibizan hounds are more "resistant" to disease than other dog breeds.