First molecular detection of Leishmania infantum in farm piglets

Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease caused by Leishmania infantum and is endemic in different countries around the world, including Mediterranean basin. In the last years, the number of species that could act as reservoirs for the parasite has been increasing, so that the presence of L. infantum has been detected in both wild species and domestic, including livestock. The role of domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) in the epidemiology of Leishmania spp. remains unexplored. This study aims to determine the prevalence of L. infantum in piglets from intensive farms in Eastern Spain (Mediterranean basin) and evaluate associated epidemiological factors. For this, 48 apparently healthy piglets from 13 commercial farms were sampled. Serum samples were tested for anti-Leishmania antibodies and molecular detection of L. infantum was performed by real-time PCR targeting kinetoplast DNA. Epidemiological data including sex, age, geographical location, and farm type were recovered and analysed. The results indicate that the prevalence of L. infantum was 22.92 % of piglets and no significant association was found between infection and epidemiological variables. This study reports, for the first time, the presence of L. infantum in farm piglets in an endemic region, which indicates that pigs could act as silent reservoir in endemic areas, emphasizing the need for broader epidemiological studies involving larger cohorts to clarify their role in disease transmission.