Detection of Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica in domestic cats in the Ege Region of Turkey.

Leishmaniosis is a group of diseases caused by different species of Leishmania parasites in mammalian species. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of Leishmania spp. DNA in cats using real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays targeting internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) and heat-shock protein 70 gene (Hsp70) regions with Leishmania species-specific primers and probes. Blood samples were collected from 147 cats (73 female; 74 male) in the endemic regions for zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in the western provinces of Turkey and analyzed using two RT-PCR assays. Additionally, Hsp70 RT-PCR products were sequenced. ELISA assays for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) were also carried out for 145 of the 147 samples. Overall, 13/147 (8.84%) cats were positive for Leishmania by RT-PCR (4 L. major and 9 L. tropica). FIV and FeLV antibody and/or antigen was detected in 4 and 5 cats among Leishmania DNA positives, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate and report the presence of L. major and L. tropica infections in a large group of domestic cats in Turkey. The results obtained indicate that species identification of Leishmania is essential for epidemiological understanding and that clinical signs alone are not indicative for leishmaniosis in cats, as it is in dogs. This study suggests that extensive research should be carried out in cat populations in order to fully understand the role of cats in the epidemiology of the disease.

Treatment of head lice with dimeticone 4% lotion: comparison of two formulations in a randomised controlled trial in rural Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Dimeticone 4% lotion was shown to be an effective treatment for head louse infestation in two randomised controlled trials in England. It is not affected by insecticide resistance but efficacy obtained (70-75%) was lower than expected. This study was designed to evaluate efficacy of dimeticone 4% lotion in a geographically, socially, and culturally different setting, in rural Turkey and, in order to achieve blinding, it was compared with a potential alternative formulation. METHODS: Children from two village schools were screened for head lice by detection combing. All infested students and family members could participate, giving access to treatment for the whole community. Two investigator applied treatments were given 7 days apart. Outcome was assessed by detection combing three times between treatments and twice the week following second treatment. RESULTS: In the intention to treat group 35/36 treated using dimeticone 4% had no lice after the second treatment but there were two protocol violators giving 91.7% treatment success. The alternative product gave 30/36 (83.3%) treatment success, a difference of 8.4% (95% CI -9.8% to 26.2%). The cure rates per-protocol were 33/34 (97.1%) and 30/35 (85.7%) respectively. We were unable to find any newly emerged louse nymphs on 77.8% of dimeticone 4% treated participants or on 66.7% of those treated with the alternative formulation. No adverse events were identified. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm the efficacy of dimeticone 4% lotion against lice and eggs and we found no detectable difference between this product and dimeticone 4% lotion with nerolidol 2% added. We believe that the high cure rate was related to the lower intensity of infestation in Turkey, together with the level of community engagement, compared with previous studies in the UK. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN10431107.