Serological Evidence of Exposure to Rickettsia, Bartonella, and Ehrlichia Species in Healthy or Leishmania infantum-Infected Dogs from Barcelona, Spain

Fifty dogs from the area around Barcelona, Spain, were evaluated for serologic evidence of exposure to vector-borne pathogens. Dirofilaria immitis, E h r l i c h i a c a n i s, Borrelia burgdorferi, L e i s h m a n i a infantum, Bartonella vinsonii s u b s p e c i e s b e r k h o f f i i , and Rickettsia rickettsii a n t i g e n s were used for testing purposes. Seroreactivity was determined in 3 different groups of dogs that were categorized based upon their L infantum infection status: uninfected healthy dogs (group 1), L infantum-infected healthy dogs (group 2), and L infantum-infected dogs with clinical manifestations consistent with leishmaniasis (group 3). Of the 50 dogs included in this study, 49 had serologic evidence of exposure to at least 1 organism for which testing