Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 1 –9 © ISFM and AAFP 2015 Reprints and permissions:

jfms.com Epidemiology of feline leishmaniosis Leishmaniosis is a parasitic disease caused by an obli-gate intracellular protozoan of the genus Leishmania (Kinetoplastida, Trypanosomatidae).1 Species from the genus Leishmania are subdivided in two subgenus: Leishmania (includes the species characteristic from the Old World, namely L major, L infantum, L donovani and L tropica, and those found in the New World, namely L chagasi [syn L infantum], L mexicana, L amazonensis and L venezuelensis) and Viannia (only occurring in Central and South America; eg, species L [Viannia] brazilien-sis).1–3 Species from genus Leishmania identified as infective for felines include L infantum,1,2 L mexicana,3 L venezuelensis,4 and L (Viannia) braziliensis.5,6 Most L infantum strains belong to zymodeme MON-1, assumed as the responsible for zoonotic leishmaniosis, affecting humans, canines, felines and other hosts.7–11 The vectors of Leishmania species belong to the genus Phlebotomus (Diptera, Psychodidae) in the Old World and Lutzomya in the New World.12,13 Leishmaniosis in domestic cats (Felis catus) was described for the first time in 1912, in Algeria, in a cat that lived with a dog and a child, both infected with leishmaniosis.14 Since then, as summarised in Table 1, feline leishmaniosis (FeL) has been globally reported, but it is found more frequently in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.26 On the American continent, FeL has been reported particularly in Central America,3 Brazil16,19 and Paraguay.18 Recent cases and studies involving the occurrence of L infantum in cats suggest that these animals act as a res-ervoir.11,26,27,28 The classification of cats as accidental What do we know about feline leishmaniosis