Leishmaniasis

DEFINITION
It is a disease produced by a parasite, protozoo flagellated, Leishmania call spp. that called vector Phlebotomus is transmitted by the puncture of an insect and that can give a cutaneous, mucocutánea or visceral pathology in dogs, people and other mammals. As much the human Leishmaniosis as the canine one can be classified according to the type of Leishmania that causes the disease (the Leishmania donovani is considered most frequent and important) or the clinical picture that appears.

I INFECT:
The calls amastigotes (it forms not flagellated of the Leishmania) form in the macrophages of the animal and is when the Phlebotomus itches, when they are ingested. Within the insect, amastigotes passes to promastigotes (flagellated) which penetrated in a new individual when the insect itches again. The main reservorios are erosive dogs and; the people are probably accidental guests.

PATOGENIA:
By the puncture of the Phlebotomus, promastigotes penetrates and is fagocitados by macrophages scattering itself. The period of incubation oscillates between a month and 7 years. The immunity that is developed is the cellular one; if the activity of lymphocytes T is insufficient, the disease is scattered.

SYMPTOMS
The clinical sintomatología can very be varied depending on the infestación degree, the immune state of the hospedador, the affected time of evolution and organs. Most of the times the dog will have a picture called visceral with nonpruriginosas cutaneous manifestations (90% of the cases). The more frequent cutaneous signs are mucocutáneas hiperqueratosis (cutaneous thickening), descamación, ulcers and sometimes, intraskin nodules. Mainly in snout, plantar ears and bearings.
The visceral symptoms that can exist are: loss of weight in spite of having normal or increased appetite, poliuria - polidipsia (they tinkle and they drink more - indicative of injuries renales-), muscular atrophy, adenopatías (increased ganglia), esplecnomegalia (bazo increased), epistaxis (blood by nose), ocular, cojeras injuries (p.e poliartritis), digestive upheavals, hepática insufficiency, hematopoyéticas alterations,?

DIAGNOSIS:
The clinic can make suspect us the existence of this disease, but we will have to resort to laboratoriales tests to confirm it and, at the same time, to collect data on organs that can be affected.

TREATMENT:
To many possible treatments and protocols are described (with ketoconazol, anfotericina B, hydrochlorate of levamisol to increase immunity,?) but the one of election is the combination of injections of antimoniato of metilglucamina (Glucantime) with alopurinol (Zyloric) oral route. The prognosis is variable, being most of the recurrent cases.

PREVENTION
At the moment, the only form of prevention consists of the use of some repelente against the Phlebotomus. In the market and lately, they have left some products for this aim, in presentation of spot on, spray or necklace.

Source: Veterinary clinic Acsis
Author: Dr Josep Vallès

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