Journal
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Volume 213, Issue 11, Pages 1752-1761Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiw022
Keywords
canine leishmaniasis; Leishmania infantum; Lutzomyia longipalpis; dogs; reservoir; vector transmission; skin; bite site; infectivity; parasite-pickup
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Funding
- Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, National Institutes of Health
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Canine leishmaniasis (CanL) is a chronic fatal disease of dogs and a major source of human infection through propagation of parasites in vectors. Here, we infected 8 beagles through multiple experimental vector transmissions with Leishmania infantum-infected Lutzomyia longipalpis. CanL clinical signs varied, although live parasites were recovered from all dog spleens. Splenic parasite burdens correlated positively with Leishmania-specific interleukin 10 levels, negatively with Leishmania-specific interferon gamma and interleukin 2 levels, and negatively with Leishmania skin test reactivity. A key finding was parasite persistence for 6 months in lesions observed at the bite sites in all dogs. These recrudesced following a second transmission performed at a distal site. Notably, sand flies efficiently acquired parasites after feeding on lesions at the primary bite site. In this study, controlled vector transmissions identify a potentially unappreciated role for skin at infectious bite sites in dogs with CanL, providing a new perspective regarding the mechanism of Leishmania transmissibility to vector sand flies.
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