What are the treatment options for dogs diagnosed as having visceral leishmaniasis?
Canine cases of leishmaniasis are unfortunately much more resistant to treatment than are human infections. For this reason a full parasitological cure in dogs is rarely achieved. Drugs such as pentavalent antimonials are frequently used to treat symptoms, and significant clinical improvement often occurs initially. Long term, however, relapses are common and the situation is complicated by the fact that frequent, long term drug use can both be harmful to the dog and create drug resistant microorganisms. What are the public health concerns associated with visceral leishmaniasis? Humans can and do become infected with the Leishmania bacteria. More than 90 percent of the world’s human leishmaniasis cases occur in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan, Brazil, and the countries along the Mediterranean Basin. Affected people have an irregular fever, anemia, enlarged spleen and liver, abnormal blood counts, and a high risk of mortality if untreated. Humans with normal immune function are at a min
