Exploring the relationship between susceptibility to canine leishmaniosis and anti-Phlebotomus perniciosus saliva antibodies in Ibizan hounds and dogs of other breeds in Mallorca, Spain

Table 5 Comparison of recombinant protein rSP03B EU and proportion of positive results between dogs based on clinical parameters

Variable	n	rSP03B EU		rSP03B ELISA result
Variable	n	Median ELISA units (IQR)	Mann–Whitney P-value	Proportion positive (count)	Fisher’s exact test P-value
Breed
Ibizan hounds	47	25.63 (22.64)	0.1668	0.2979 (14)	0.1525
Other breeds	45	29.74 (23.27)	0.1668	0.4222 (19)	0.1525
Age
Adult (≥ 18 months)	53	33.17 (24.41)	0.0001***	0.4528 (24)	0.0021**
Juvenile (< 18months)	32	20.93 (15.56)	0.0001***	0.1250 (4)	0.0021**
Sex
Female	60	25.64 (22.26)	0.1672	0.3333 (20)	0.3188
Male	32	30.44 (24.20)	0.1672	0.4063 (13)	0.3188
L. infantum ELISA
Seropositive	19	34.10 (38.74)	0.0275*	0.5263 (10)	0.0709
Seronegative	71	25.63 (21.04)	0.0275*	0.3099 (22)	0.0709
L. infantum blood qPCR
Positive	33	29.74 (19.26)	0.2787	0.3939 (13)	0.3016
Negative	42	24.32 (22.44)	0.2787	0.3095 (13)	0.3016
LST
Positive	45	23.69 (14.64)	0.5199	0.2222 (10)	0.5164
Negative	7	24.96 (23.73)	0.5199	0.2857 (2)	0.5164
IFN-γ assay
Producer	51	25.63 (16.83)	0.7196	0.2549 (13)	0.1742
Non-producer	14	23.19 (48.24)	0.7196	0.4229 (6)	0.1742
Papule presence
Papular	31	25.18 (20.78)	0.1554	0.3226 (10)	0.3906
Non-papular	61	26.87 (23.68)	0.1554	0.3770 (23)	0.3906
L. infantum infection^a
Yes	75	26.38 (19.39)	0.8795	0.3467 (26)	0.4533
No	15	24.96 (29.19)	0.8795	0.4000 (6)	0.4533

^aPresence of L. infantum infection defined as positive result for at least one of the following tests: L. infantum ELISA, L. infantum blood qPCR, IFN-γ assay, or LST. Only dogs subjected to at least one of the tests are considered
Notes: Mann–Whitney tests were all conducted as two-tailed analyses, while Fisher exact tests were all single-tailed, examining the trend established when calculating the proportion of positive results
Abbreviations: ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; EU, ELISA units; IFN-γ, interferon gamma; IQR, interquartile range; LST, leishmanin skin test; qPCR, quantitative polymerase chain reaction; n, number of dogs
*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001

ISSN: 1756-3305