KALA-AZAR IN PORTUGAL .5. THE SYLVATIC CYCLE IN THE ENZOOTIC ENDEMIC FOCUS OF ARRABIDA

Abstract

Leishmania parasites were found in 3 of 43 foxes examined in the Arrabida region of the Setubal peninsula in Portugal. The total number of cases of vulpine leishmaniasis was 4 in 71 animals examined in this area, a prevalence rate of 5.63%. The 3 parasitized foxes were all symptomless; NNN cultures inoculated with tissue extracts were positive for all 3 animals. The immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) was positive, with titers .gtoreq. 1/128 in the 3 infected foxes. The isoenzyme electrophoretic profile obtained from these positive cultures showed the strains to be identical with others isolated in Portugal from man, dog and fox, as well as with strains from elsewhere in the Mediterranean (zymodeme 1). The prevalence rate of 5.63% is probably sufficient to maintain endemicity. The presence of a semiautonomic sylvatic cycle in the area seems likely. Hepatozoon was found in 28 foxes (65.11%).