%0 Journal Article
%T LeishVet guidelines for the practical management of canine leishmaniosis
%A Laia Solano-Gallego
%A Guadalupe Mir¨®
%A Alek Koutinas
%A Luis Cardoso
%A Maria Pennisi
%A Luis Ferrer
%A Patrick Bourdeau
%A Gaetano Oliva
%A Gad Baneth
%J Parasites & Vectors
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1756-3305-4-86
%X Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) due to Leishmania infantum is a major global zoonosis potentially fatal to humans and dogs, which comprise the main reservoir of infection to humans [1]. CanL is endemic in more than 70 countries in the world. It is present in regions of southern Europe, Africa, Asia, South and Central America [2] and has been reported also in the United States of America (USA) [3]. It is also an important concern in non-endemic countries where imported sick or infected dogs constitute a veterinary and public health problem [4].CanL is manifested by a broad spectrum of clinical signs and degrees of severity, and there is insufficient scientific agreement on the management of this disease [2]. LeishVet is a group of veterinary scientists from academic institutes in Europe and the Mediterranean basin with a main clinical and scientific interest in CanL. The main goal of LeishVet is to develop consensus recommendations that would represent the most current understanding of L. infantum infection in dogs based on recent evidence-based literature and clinical experience [2]. The objective of these guidelines is to help practitioners in the clinical management of CanL with emphasis on diagnosis, clinical staging, treatment, clinical monitoring, prognosis and prevention.Leishmania completes its life cycle in two hosts, a phlebotomine sand fly vector, which transmits the flagellated infective promastigote form, and a mammal, where the intracellular amastigote form develops and replicates (Figure 1). Sand flies are the only arthropods that are adapted for biological transmission of Leishmania. The relatively low proportion of sand flies harbouring L. infantum (0.5 - 3%) is sufficient for maintaining the infection in endemic areas. Non-sand fly modes of transmission have also been described but their role in the natural history and epidemiology of leishmaniosis remains unclear (Figure 1). Proven modes of non-sand fly transmission include infection through transfused
%U http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/4/1/86