Stray Dogs and Leishmaniasis in Urban Areas, Portugal

摘要

To the Editor: In southern Eu-rope, zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum used to be considered a rural disease, but it is becoming more prevalent in ur-ban areas. Outbreaks in urban/periur-ban settings are associated with the urbanization of natural zoonotic foci (1). The presence of a high number of stray dogs in urban/periurban settle-ments may contribute to the spread and increase of new infections. A canine survey was performed twice a month from December 1, 2002, through December 31, 2003. A total of 374 dogs from urban areas of Lisbon were screened for leishmani-asis. Owners voluntarily brought 277 domestic dogs; 97 stray dogs were from public shelters. Indirect . uores-cent assay was used for detection of anti-Leishmania antibodies using a cut-off of 1/64, and popliteal lymph node aspirates for Novy, Nicolle, and MacNeal cultures were tested (2).