A carregar...
Publicação
Seroprevalence of Leishmania spp. Infection in Cats in Portugal
| Nome: | Descrição: | Tamanho: | Formato: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.24 MB | Adobe PDF |
Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
Leishmania infantum is endemic in Portugal, where dogs are the main reservoir and human visceral leishmaniosis remains a public health concern. Increasing evidence indicates that cats are also susceptible to infection and may contribute to local transmission, although nationwide data remain limited. This study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of Leishmania spp. infection in cats in Portugal and to identify potential risk factors. Serum samples collected for unrelated clinical purposes and submitted to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory between December 2024 and March 2025, representing all districts of mainland Portugal and the Azores, were analyzed. Anti-Leishmania spp. antibodies were detected using the direct agglutination test, and associations with explanatory variables were evaluated through multivariable logistic regression. The overall seroprevalence was 8.9% (96/1080; 95%CI 7.3–10.7). One cat from Terceira Island (Azores) tested seropositive (1/10). Region was the only independent predictor of seropositivity, with cats from the Algarve showing higher odds of infection than those from other regions (adjusted OR 1.97; 95%CI 1.24–3.13; p = 0.004). These findings demonstrate widespread feline exposure consistent with known canine and human hotspots, and detection in the Azores suggests possible local transmission, supporting the inclusion of cats in multi-host surveillance within a One Health framework.
Descrição
Funding information: This research was funded by the national funding agency for science and research in Portugal (FCT) through contract with GHTM (UID/Multi/04413/2020) and LA-REAL (LA/P/0117/2020). This study was co-funded by European Commission grant 101057690 and UKRI grants 10038150 and 10039289, and is catalogued by the CLIMOS Scientific Committee as CLIMOS number 39 (http://www.climos-project.eu). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission, the Health and Digital Executive Agency, or UKRI. Neither the European Union nor granting authority nor UKRI can be held responsible. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. For the purposes of Open Access, the authors have applied a CC BY [option: CC BY-ND] public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission. The six Horizon Europe projects, BlueAdapt, CATALYSE, CLIMOS, HIGH Horizons, IDAlert, and TRIGGER, form the Climate and Health Cluster. Publisher Copyright: © 2026 by the authors.
Palavras-chave
cats Leishmania One Health seroprevalence Microbiology Microbiology (medical) Virology SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being