First Molecular Evidence of Leishmania Infantum in Domestic Cats and Associated Risk Factors from the Black Sea Region of Türkiye

Purpose The objectives of the present study are to determine the molecular prevalence of Leishmania spp. in the owned domestic cats in the Black Sea Region of Türkiye and analyze the associated risk factors in FeL. Methods Conjunctival swabs (CS), blood, demographic, and clinical data were collected from 150 owned cats brought to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital during 2020–2022. Leishmania kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) from CS was screened by TaqMan Real-Time PCR (qPCR) with the genus-specific primers and a probe. Results All qPCR positive products were also amplified and sequenced to identify Leishmania species by ITS1 primers. Molecular prevalence of L. infantum found as 12.6% (19/150) in the observed cats in the Black Sea Region of Türkiye. There was a significant difference ( p