169495 20260318135945.0 doi 10.1007/s11259-026-11117-3 sideral 148421 ART-2026-148421 eng Villanueva-Saz, Sergio Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0001-6209-4282 Evaluation of a commercial multispecies rapid test for anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies in unconventional animal species 2026 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Leishmania infantum is a vector-borne protozoan causing zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean basin, where dogs are the primary reservoir. However, infection in various domestic and wild mammals raises questions about their epidemiological roles. Reliable diagnosis in non-canine species remains challenging, as most serological assays are developed for dogs and cats. This study evaluated a commercially available multispecies rapid immunochromatographic test (Uranotest® Leishmania feline) for detecting anti-Leishmania antibodies in a diverse panel of domestic and non-domestic animals. A total of 186 serum samples from different species were analyzed, previously classified as seropositive (n = 65) or seronegative (n = 121) using an in-house ELISA as reference. Immunochromatographic rapid test performance was compared to ELISA results using Cohen’s kappa to assess agreement. Overall agreement reached 82.3% (κ = 0.56), indicating moderate concordance. This immunochromatographic test correctly identified all positive and negative canine and feline samples and showed perfect agreement in other carnivores such as mink and wolves. In contrast, all herbivorous species, including alpaca, horses, goats, llama, sheep, bison, and dromedaries, produced negative results by the rapid test despite ELISA seropositivity, suggesting limited affinity of the conjugate for herbivore immunoglobulins. These findings indicate that, while the assayed rapid test is suitable for detecting anti-Leishmania antibodies in non-herbivorous species, it is unreliable for herbivores. The study highlights the importance of species-specific validation of serological assays and suggests that rapid tests using protein A conjugates may have restricted cross-species utility, reinforcing the need for adapted diagnostic tools in multispecies and wildlife contexts. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/AR15-32R info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion González, Ana Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-8727-0323 Pérez, María D. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-2555-8425 Lacasta, Delia Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-7822-6646 Fernández, Antonio Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-2557-4890 Quilez, Pablo Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0009-0003-9757-3840 Ortín, Aurora Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-0313-5926 Guallar, David Universidad de Zaragoza Gómez, Álex Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-9723-9004 Marteles-Aragüés, Diana Universidad de Zaragoza 1009 773 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Patología Animal Área Sanidad Animal 1009 617 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Patología Animal Área Medicina y Cirugía Animal 2008 780 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Produc.Animal Cienc.Ali. Área Tecnología de Alimentos 50, 181 (2026), 7 Vet. res. commun. Veterinary Research Communications 0165-7380 828975 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/169495/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2424886 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/169495/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:169495 articulos driver 2026-03-18-13:58:00 ARTICLE