Cutaneous leishmaniosis in a dog vaccinated with LiESP/QA-21: effective or defective vaccine-related immune surveillance? A case report

ABSTRACT: Leishmania, an intracellular protozoan parasite, is endemic, widespread and represents a public health problem in most countries of the Mediterranean basin as it is implicated in a wide spectrum of diseases both in humans and animals. Vaccination of canines remains the best control strategy to counteract the progression of active infection for canine disease in areas of the world where transmission to humans is primarily zoonotic. This case report describes the history of a four-year-old dog vaccinated against canine leishmaniosis that was presented to a private clinic for the onset of a nodular skin lesion. Besides normal haematological and biochemical analyses, the histopathological examination of the removed skin lesion revealed the presence of Leishmania amastigotes. The presence of the protozoa in the skin lesion of a vaccinated dog is discussed.