Canine Leishmaniasis is a vector borne zoonotic disease caused by protozoan parasite belonging tothe genus Leishmania. It is basically a disease of animals that gets in to the human population when man, fliesand the animal reservoirs coexist in the same environment. The disease is transmitted to human and animals byblood sucking sand fly of the genus Lutzomyia in the new world and Phlebotomus in the old world. The primaryreservoir hosts of Leishmania species are sylvatic mammals such as forest rodents, hyraxes and wild canides.From domestic animals, dogs play an important role in the epidemiology of this disease. Leishmania species areflagellated and have two basic life cycle stages: the extracellular stage within the invertebrate host and theintracellular stage within vertebrate host. Clinically, imported dogs from endemic areas may develop the diseasemonths or years later. The disease is endemic in parts of Africa, India, Middle East, Southern Europe and centraland South America. Leishmaniasis can be diagnosed using various methods, such as: parasitological,immunological and molecular techniques. Different forms of treatments are available including oral parentral andtopical medications such as pentavalent antimonials, liposomal amphoteracin B, miltefosine and paromomycin.However, control methods are largely limited to: destruction of animal reservoirs, treatment of infected humanand animals and management of sand fly populations. Development of an effective vaccine againstleishmaniasis has been largely unsuccessful and hinders its prevention.
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