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Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

DOI

-

Abstract

Human and canine visceral leishmaniasis cases have been reported from Kuşadası, a town in western Turkey, since 1993. In order to better understand the epidemiology of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CanVL) in the region, we aimed: (i) to determine the prevalence of CanVL in Kuşadası using a randomly selected dog population and (ii) to measure the effect of case control on the prevalence of the disease. In this study, all 109 dogs kept at the dog shelter of Kuşadası Municipality (reflecting random selectivity) were screened serologically using IFAT and rK39 ELISA in 1999. Ten dogs (9.1%) were seropositive or borderline in 1 of the 2 tests. Seropositive dogs (8) died spontaneously or were euthanized, while borderline dogs (2) underwent monthly serological examinations. One year later, in a second sampling, a total of 85 dogs were examined (27 previously tested and 58 new). Four dogs (4.7%) showed seropositivity. Seropositive dogs (2) were euthanized while borderline dogs (2) underwent monthly serological examinations. The reduction in the prevalence of the disease (from 9.1% to 4.7%) appears to be the result of culling CanVL positive dogs from the general population.

Keywords

Canine leishmaniasis, seroprevalence, Turkey

First Page

23

Last Page

26

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