Canine leishmaniosis is a widely spread zoonosis that is potentially fatal to humans and dogs. Infection with Leishmania infantum is much more prevalent than clinical disease, and infected dogs with no signs of disease are able to potentially transmit the infection. Serology has a low sensitivity for the diagnosis of asymptomatic infection and PCR markedly increases it. New treatments devoted exclusively for the therapy of canine leishmaniosis is needed because current drugs do not reliably eliminate infection and might provoke resistance. Protection against sand-fly bites by topical insecticides is effective in reducing the rate of the infection, and recent development of vaccines has suggested that immune prophylaxis is feasible. Integrated prevention with topical insecticides reducing the feeding of vectors and vaccination blocking early infection can be the basis of successful control programs.

N.B.: for a reprint of the article please contact leishvet@ucm.es

Recent research has generated new insights on epidemiology, pathology and immunology of canine leishmaniosis (CanL) and its genetic background. We now know that the prevalence of infection in endemic areas is considerably higher than that of apparent clinical illness. In addition, infection quickly spreads among dogs when optimal conditions for transmission occur. Infection induces granulomatous and harmful immune-mediated responses, and susceptibility to the disease is influenced by a complex genetic basis. These concepts will be instrumental for devising control programs. This review, the first in a series of two articles on CanL, presents an updated view on progress in elucidating the epidemiology and pathogenesis of this intriguing disease, and the second part focuses on progress in diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

N.B.: for a reprint of the article please contact leishvet@ucm.es