molecular survey of leishmaniasis in stray dogs in southwest iran: identification and confirmation of cutaneous and visceral specious in blood and skin examinations

Leishmaniasis with various clinical manifestations is prevalent and remains a significant zoonosis and public health concern in iran. this study aimed to survey cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis in stray dogs. a cross-sectional study was conducted on 87 stray dogs (55 without skin lesions and 32 with skin lesions) from shelters in shiraz, southwest iran, for the first time. this study determined the molecular prevalence of leishmania spp. and identified the species in the blood samples of the dogs. blood and skin lesion samples were collected from dogs with and without skin lesions. the specimens were then subjected to a pcr assay to amplify a conserved region of the leishmania kdna minicircle. skin lesion smears were also examined under a light microscope. the pcr amplicons were finally sequenced, assembled, and multiple-aligned leishmania strains retrieved from the genbank. phylogenetic analysis was finally provided. the result showed 8.05% (7/87) leishmaniasis in all dogs and 21.87% (7/32) in dogs with skin lesions using pcr. no leishmania infection was found in dogs without skin lesions. a significant association was found between skin lesions and leishmaniasis (p=0.001). phylogenetic analysis interestingly revealed five isolates, identified as l. major, l. tropica, and l. infantum, with 90-98% identity to documented sequences. microscopic examination of skin smears confirmed the presence of amastigotes in 15.62% (5/32) of dogs with skin lesions. this study highlights the importance of stray dogs with skin lesions as potential reservoirs in dispersing zoonotic visceral and cutaneous leishmania spp. in this region. it emphasizes the need for surveillance and control measures to prevent the leishmania transmission to the vectors and human and animal hosts. the study also elucidated that cutaneous parasites, identified more in skin lesions, by circulating in dogs blood can be detected using kdna pcr.