Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis, United States and Canada, 2000–2003

摘要

Visceral leishmaniasis, caused by protozoa of thegenus Leishmania donovani complex, is a vectorbornezoonotic infection that infects humans, dogs, and othermammals. In 2000, this infection was implicated as causinghigh rates of illness and death among foxhounds in a ken-nel in New York. A serosurvey of >12,000 foxhounds andother canids and 185 persons in 35 states and 4 Canadianprovinces was performed to determine geographic extent,prevalence, host range, and modes of transmission withinfoxhounds, other dogs, and wild canids and to assess pos-sible infections in humans. Foxhounds infected withLeishmania spp. were found in 18 states and 2 Canadianprovinces. No evidence of infection was found in humans.The infection in North America appears to be widespread infoxhounds and limited to dog-to-dog mechanisms of trans-mission; however, if the organism becomes adapted forvector transmission by indigenous phlebotomines, theprobability of human exposure will be greatly increased