Retrospective Evaluation of Canine Leishmaniasis in Turkey

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Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic parasitic disease that is found in parts of the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe. Due to its zoonotic nature, it is as a very important problem for both animal and human health, and it poses a significant risk for approximately 310 million people in 98 countries. Like many protozoan parasites, Leishmania have a digenetic life cycle involving both a mammalian host and an insect vector. The disease has at least four main clinical forms, namely the visceral, cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and diffuse cutaneous forms. In Turkey, two forms of the disease caused by various Leishmania species can be encountered: the cutaneous leishmaniasis and visceral leishmaniasis. Domestic dogs in urban and peri-urban areas and wild canids in the rural areas or nature are the main reservoirs for visceral leishmaniasis. Dogs are important for the spread of the disease as they can both clinically be infected and can act as reservoirs for other mammals, particularly humans. Studies performed in Turkey indicate that the prevalence of the disease is between 0% and 27.18%. The prevalence of the disease for the Mediterranean, Aegean, Central Anatolia, Black Sea, Eastern Anatolia, Marmara, and Southeastern Anatolia regions have been determined as 12.96%, 9.08%, 5.82%, 5.38%, 4.38%, 2.40%, and 0.00%, respectively. In this review, the aim was to retrospectively evaluate the prevalence of the canine leishmaniasis in Turkey.

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Canine leishmaniasis , prevalence , retrospective , Turkey

Fırat University Veterinary Journal Of Health Sciences

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Fırat University Veterinary Journal Of Health Sciences