Human and canine leishmaniasis in asymptomatic and symptomatic population in Northwestern Greece.

The occurrence of human and canine Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis (MVL) in Northwestern Greece was investigated during an 8-year survey (1994-2001). A total of 1200 blood sera samples, collected from asymptomatic human population, and 1200 blood sera samples from asymptomatic dogs were screened for Leishmania infantum antibodies using the indirect immunofluorescence test (IFA). Also during the survey 111 human subjects and 350 canines were referred as clinically suspect cases for MVL. Significant differences (p = 0.001) were found between the prevalence of MVL in symptomatic and asymptomatic human populations (12.6 and 0.5%, respectively), but a more modest difference was observed between symptomatic and asymptomatic canines (45.4 and 24.4%, respectively). From the results, it appears that Greece has a high background of canine leishmaniasis, which is likely to be a risk factor for the emergence of human MVL.