Canine leishmanias is a zoonotic disease caused by parasitic protozoa of the gender Leishmania. Leishmaniasis affects humans and other animals, mainly the dog, and is commonly known as leishmania, or canine leishmaniasis, or human leishmaniasis. A new treatment in syrup form is now available to prevent and treat canine leishmaniasis.

Leishmaniasis is an endemic disease in many countries, including all those of the Mediterranean Basin, South America and West Africa –where the disease is caused by Leishmania infantum (synonym: Leishmania chagasi)–, North Africa (L. tropica) and East Africa (L. donovani). Other species also found in South America play a lesser role in dogs (L. braziliensis, L. peruviana and L. panamensis). The disease has also been reported in the USA and is becoming increasingly important in non-endemic countries, where dogs imported from endemic areas may be infected or sick and pose a problem for vets and public health authorities alike.



Canine leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean region is caused by the same species responsible for human leishmaniasis (Leishmania infantum). Dogs constitute the main reservoir of the disease, and hence the fight against canine leishmaniasis –i.e. treatment of sick animals, early diagnosis, and prevention– is key to control human leishmaniasis.

While several methods are available to diagnose the disease, diagnosis is complex and not always easily interpretable. Indeed, the different methods marketed offer very different sensitivity and specificity ranges. The various work groups on canine leishmaniasis (Leishvet, GSLC) propose different decision protocols, but all include serological diagnosis as a key element. While the immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) has been the most frequently used method –and that considered of reference by the WHO–, several papers assessing the sensitivities and specificities of the different available options have cast doubt on IFAT as a method of reference.

One might think that demonstrating the presence of the parasite is the most direct way of diagnosing the disease. However, detecting the parasite by means of more sensitive methods (PCR) does not necessarily imply that the animal is clinically affected by leishmaniasis. Therefore, despite the availability of direct diagnostic methods such as PCR, indirect methods that detect antibodies (IFAT, indirect ELISA, DAT) remain the best option to detect the presence of the disease –not the parasite– in dogs.