The vaccine against the potentially fatal dog disease Canine Leishmaniasis is finally available at Greek vet clinics. Dog owners can purchase the vaccine for 150 Euros, and it must be given to dogs in three injections under the skin, each three weeks apart.
Dogs older than 6 months and negative to the parasite can be vaccinated. The vaccine aims at creating antibodies against the proteins released by the Leishmania Infantum parasite during its growth. The vaccine does not contain any parasites.
Canine Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease caused by Leishmania parasites transmitted by the bite of an infected phlebotomine sandfly, especially active from dusk to dawn from May to September.
Canine leishmaniasis was first identified in Europe in 1903, and in 1940, 40% of all dogs in Rome were determined to be positive for leishmaniasis. Traditionally thought of as a disease only found near the Mediterranean basin, 2008 research claims new findings show evidence that canine leishmaniasis is currently expanding in continental climate areas of northwestern Italy, far from the recognized disease-endemic areas along the Mediterranean coasts.
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