Is the Prevalence of Leishmania infantum Linked to Breeds in Dogs? Characterization of Seropositive Dogs in Ibiza

Leishmaniosis is an important zoonotic protozoan disease primarily spread to the Mediterranean region by Leishmania infantum, the predominant protozoan species, which accounts for the majority of cases. Development of disease depends on the immune response of the definitive host and, predictably, their genetic background. Recent studies have revealed breed-typical haplotypes that are susceptible to the spread of the protozoan parasite. The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence of leishmaniosis on a Mediterranean island and determine the relationship between disease prevalence and breed. In addition, information on seropositive animals was recorded to characterize animals affected by the disease. To study the prevalence, a total of 3141 dogs were analyzed. Of these, the 149 infected animals were examined for age, sex, antibody titer, and disease stage. We observed a prevalence of 4.74%, which varied between breeds (p < 0.05). The Doberman Pinscher and Boxer breeds had the highest prevalence of leishmaniosis. Significant differences were observed between breeds with common ancestors, emphasizing the important genetic component. Finally, regarding the characterization of seropositive animals, the distribution is similar to other studies. We discovered a relationship (p < 0.05) between the number of antibody titers and the clinical disease stage, which was also present in Leishmania infantum, suggesting that the development of the disease depends on the humoral or Th2 immune response with ineffective antibodies.

Modified formulas for calculation of encephalization: quotient in dogs

Objective Dogs are a breed of animals that play important roles in security service, companionship, hunting, guard, work and models of research for application in humans. Intelligence is the key factor to success in life, most especially for dogs that are used for security purposes at the airports, seaports, public places, houses, schools and farms. However, it has been reported that there is correlation between intelligence, body weight, height and craniometry in human. In view of this, literatures were searched on body weight, height and body surface areas of ten dogs with intent to determining their comparative level of intelligence using encephalization quotient. Results Findings revealed that dogs have relationship of brain allometry with human as proven by encephalization quotient $$\left( {{\text{EQ}}} \right)\, = \,{\text{Brain Mass}}/0.{14}\, \times \,{\text{Body weight}}^{{0.{528}}} ,{\text{ Brain Mass}}/0.{12}\, \times \,{\text{Body Weight}}^{{0.{66}}}$$ EQ = Brain Mass / 0.14 × Body weight 0.528 , Brain Mass / 0.12 × Body Weight 0.66 and Brain Mass (E) = kpβ, where p is the body weight; k = 0.14 and β = 0.528, respectively. Saganuwa’s formula yielded better results as compared with the other formulas. Dogs with body surface area (BSA), weight and height similar to that of human are the most intelligent. Doberman pinscher is the most intelligent followed by German shepherd, Labrador retriever, Golden retriever, respectively.

Modified Formulas for Calculation of Encephalization Quotient in Dogs

ObjectiveDogs are a breed of animals that play important roles, ranging from security passing through companionship to models of research for application in humans. Intelligence is the key factor to success in life, most especially for dogs that are used for security purposes at the airports, seaports, public places, houses, schools and farms. However, it has been reported that there is correlation between intelligence, body weight, height and craniometry in human. In view of this, literatures on body weight, height and body surface areas of ten dogs were assessed with a view to determining their comparative level of intelligence.ResultsFindings revealed that dogs share brain common allometric relationships with human as shown by Encephalization Quotient (EQ)= Brain Mass/0.14 x Body weight0.528 as compared with Brain Mass /0.12 x Body Weight0.66 and Brain Mass (E)=kpβ, where p is the body weight,k=0.14 and β=0.528 which yielded better results as compared with the other formulas. Dogs with BSA, weight and height similar to that of human are the most intelligent. Doberman Pinscher is the most intelligent followed by German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, respectively.