Veterinary parasitology research

 Animals, both livestock as well as companion animals, can be infected with a wide variety of parasites. It is impossible to cover the whole range of parasitic infections of veterinary importance. At present, our focus is on:

1. Leishmaniosis
Leishmaniasis is not only a human health problem. The animal reservoir (mainly household and stray dogs, but also small rodents, opossums and many other species) can also suffer from the disease. Canine leishmaniosis is becoming more and more important in Mediterranean countries and in many countries in Latin America. However, the disease is also more and more frequently reported as an import disease in northern European countries and recently an outbreak of leishmaniosis was reported in kennels in eastern states of the USA.

2. Trypanosomosis
Tsetse fly-transmitted trypanosomiasis is an infectious disease unique to Africa and caused by various species of blood parasites, Trypanosoma. The disease also affects animals, Animal African Trypanosomosis (AAT) or Nagana, and occurs in approximately 35 sub-Saharan countries. The infection threatens an estimated 50 million head of cattle. The economic impact of the disease is huge: every year, AAT causes about 3 million deaths in cattle while approximately 35 million doses of trypanocidal drugs are administered.

3. Helminths in ruminants
Helminth parasites are found in cattle, sheep and goats in all countries of the world. Many of these parasites are associated with poor production, reduced health and can produce acute disease and even death.

 

Approach

KIT Biomedical Research has active ongoing research towards the improved diagnosis and epidemiology of canine leishmaniosis (CanL) in close collaboration with several research groups in disease endemic countries. The diagnosis of CanL is just as difficult as human leishmaniasis. The clinical signs are very variable and the histopathology is non-specific (the lesions are often similar to those observed in other infectious diseases). Because of the limitations of the direct diagnostic methods, a number of indirect immunological methods for the diagnosis of canine leishmaniasis, like direct agglutination tests and dipsticks, have been developed at KIT Biomedical Research. Furthermore, molecular techniques to identify the parasite species causing disease are in place. In addition, we are actively involved in research on the occurrence and identification of Leishmania parasites in other mammal species, like opossum, cat and rodents.

Development of new diagnostic tools for animal trypanosomosis is often the result of ongoing research in HAT.

KIT Biomedical Research can play an advisory role in research on helminth infections in ruminants.

 

Focal points

  • Development, evaluation and implementation of (new) diagnostic tools for animal leishmaniosis and epidemiology of the disease
  • Development, evaluation and implementation of diagnostic tools for animal trypanosomosis and epidemiology of the disease
  • Advice on helminth infections in ruminants

Example

In Portugal, four endemic regions of canine leishmaniosis have been identified – the Alto Douro, Lisbon, Évora, and the Algarve – but infection and disease may be found sporadically in almost the whole of the country. The northern Alto Douro province is the most important region of zoonotic leishmaniosis.
Scientists from the Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Vila Real, Portugal) are performing field surveys to assess the current status of canine leishmaniosis in this region. In this project diagnostic tools developed by KIT Biomedical Research are employed. The research indicates that the sero-prevalence of the disease is rising. Furthermore, distinct geographic, climatologically different zones seem to correlate with the presence of the disease.

Projects


Publications


Team members


Contact

For more information please contact Dr. Henk Schallig

Tags

agriculture | diagnostics | leishmaniasis | research | trypanosomiasis | agricultural development

Royal Tropical Institute