RT Journal Article
T1 Equine infection with Leishmania spp. in Costa Rica: Study of five cases
A1 Ortega‐García, María Victoria
A1 Salguero, Francisco Javier
A1 García Benzaquén, Nerea
A1 Domínguez, Mercedes
A1 Moreno, Inmaculada
A1 Berrocal, Alexis
AB Background: Cutaneous forms of leishmaniosis due to Leishmania braziliensis have been reported in  horses in the NewWorld. Domestic animals play a role in the transmission of the disease. In Costa Rica,  human cases of L. braziliensis, L. panamensis and L. infantum have been reported.Objectives: The present report describes five cases of equine cutaneous leishmaniosis in Costa Rica. The aetiological diagnosis was based on the presence of the parasite within the lesions.Methods: Skin biopsies were used to perform histopathological analyses of the lesions. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the presence of the Leishmania spp. antigens in tissue sections. Laser-capture micro-dissection and quantitative real-time PCR techniqueswere carried out to detect the pathogen nucleic acid within themicroscopic lesions.Results: Histopathological analyses showed a granulomatous inflammation within the dermis, with multi-nucleated giant cells, macrophages, lymphocytes and few neutrophils and eosinophils.We detected the parasite by immunohistochemistry, using a rabbit polyclonal antibody raised against Leishmania spp. However, we could not identify Leishmania spp. by quantitative real-time PCR in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues, using specific primers for the conserved region in the minicircle of the Leishmania DNA kinetoplast.Conclusions: Our results emphasise the importance of Leishmania spp. not only as a causative agent of equine cutaneous disease in the NewWorld, but also as a possible emerging pathogen. Leishmaniosis is one of the most prevalent parasitic public health problems worldwide, and equinesmay have a role in the epidemiology of the disease.
PB Wiley
SN 2053-1095
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95849
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95849
LA eng
NO Ortega-García, M. V., Salguero, F. J., García, N., Domínguez, M., Moreno, I., & Berrocal, A. (2021). Equine infection with Leishmania spp. in Costa Rica: Study of five cases. Veterinary Medicine and Science, 7, 2234–2239. https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.587
NO AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONSConceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, writing-review and editing: María Victoria Ortega-García, Francisco Javier Salguero and Alexis Berrocal. Data curation, formal analysis, writing-review and editing: Inmaculada Moreno, Mercedes Domínguez and Nerea García.
NO European Commission
NO Comunidad de Madrid 
DS Docta Complutense
RD 30 jun 2025