Canine leishmaniasis, spread by sandflies in Mediterranean and tropical regions, causes chronic progressive disease requiring lifelong treatment and responsible prevention.
Canine leishmaniasis causes chronic, insidious suffering - progressive weight loss, skin lesions, epistaxis, and eventually kidney failure over months to years. Without treatment, the disease is fatal. Even with treatment, dogs require lifelong management and monitoring. Dogs in endemic regions who are not protected by insect repellents and vaccination are at high preventable risk. The zoonotic dimension - dogs serving as reservoirs for human disease - creates an ethical imperative for responsible management benefiting both animal and human welfare.