A recent study published by BioMed Central (BMC) links leishmaniasis in dogs and arthritis. The study was published in the Parasites & Vectors journal on Sept. 8.
What Is Leishmaniasis?
Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by infected sand flies. After being bit, either skin or abdominal infection can occur. The most severe cases result in a disease called black fever. Contact with infected blood or body fluids transmits the disease. Infected mothers can also pass the disease on to their pups while nursing.
The Study
Alexandre R.S. da Silva is a published author of the study. With his team, da Silva studied how the disease affects dogs with arthritis.
Dogs infected with ehrlichiosis, a tick-borne disease, made up part of the study. Ehrlichiosis presents with eye problems, anemia, and eventually swelling in the limbs. Without proper treatment, the disease can kill.
However, Da Silva believes a link exists between the two diseases and instances of arthritis in dogs.
The team created a study of 89 leishmaniasis-infected dogs. Of those, 43 dogs also had ehrlichiosis. Researchers gave radiographic scans to all the dogs’ joints for signs of arthritis. Furthermore, each dog had a synovial fluid sample taken.
Results of the Leishmaniasis Study
Overall, over 80% of the dogs had “abnormalities suggestive of osteoarthritis”.
Furthermore, the fluid exams showed inflammation in almost half the dogs. Notably, there was no difference in the rate or severity of the disease between the two groups. However, certain cells linked to leishmaniasis were found in co-infected dogs at higher rates.
As of now, the study doesn’t show causation between co-infection of leishmaniasis, ehrlichiosis, and the severity of arthritis. Yet, researchers are calling for more studies to evaluate their findings.
