Canine Leishmaniasis in Southeastern Spain Joaquina Martín-Sánchez, Manuel Morales-Yuste, Carmen Acedo-Sánchez, Sergio Barón, Victoriano Díaz, and Francisco Morillas-Márquez To examine prevalence changes and risk factors for canine leishmaniasis, we conducted a cross-sectional se- roprevalence study and a survey during April–June 2006. Seroprevalence had increased at the meso-Mediterranean bioclimatic level over 22 years. Risk was highest for dogs that were older, large, lived outside, and lived at the meso- Mediterranean level. I t has been suggested that climate change has the poten- tial to change the transmission intensity of vector-borne diseases such as leishmaniasis, but supporting literature is lacking (1,2). Because long-term quality data on leishma- niasis caused by Leishmania infantum and its vector (3–9) are available for the Alpujarras region of southeastern Spain (Figure 1), this is an ideal area for studying changes in the prevalence of canine leishmaniasis in a changing environment. Our study objectives were to determine whether any changes had occurred in the prevalence of canine leishmaniasis over 22 years and to identify risk factors for this disease. The Study To achieve the first objective, we conducted a cross- sectional study in the Alpujarras from April through June 2006. We then compared current leishmaniasis seropreva- lence data with data from 2 cross-sectional surveys con- ducted in 1984 and 1991 (3–5). The villages sampled for all 3 studies were similar and had been selected at random from within each of the 3 bioclimatic levels (thermo-, meso-, and supra-Mediterranean) that comprise the inhabited zone of the Alpujarras (Figure 1) (10). For each level, respectively, altitudes are 0–700, 600–900, and 900–1,800 m above sea level; annual mean temperatures are 17–19, 13–17, and 8–15°C; and annual rainfalls are 200–350, 600–1,000, and 1,000–1,600 inches. The dates for sample collection were set to coincide with organized events at which dogs were gathered (e.g., antirabies vaccination campaigns). All 3 surveys used indirect immunofluorescence for diagnosis; protocols and positivity threshold were identical. Dogs with a titer >160 were considered positive. To determine and compare the existence or lack of statistically significant differences between present and past prevalence rates, we used the χ 2 or Fisher exact test. To achieve the second objective, we conducted a sur- vey. The owners of the dogs included in the cross-sectional study conducted in the Alpujarras from April to June 2006 were asked to complete an epidemiologic record for each dog tested; data on the animal and its environment were recorded for subsequent use in univariate and multivari- ate logistic regression analyses (Tables 1, 2). Density data were included for 2 vectors, Phlebotomus perniciosus and P. ariasi sandflies, captured with sticky traps in June 2006 in the same villages in which the surveys were conducted. Emerging Infectious Diseases  www.cdc.gov/eid  Vol. 15, No. 5, May 2009 795 Author affiliations: Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain (J. Martín-Sánchez, M. Morales-Yuste, S. Barón, V. Díaz, F. Morillas- Márquez); and Laboratorio de Análisis Veterinarios ANLAVE, Gran- ada (C. Acedo-Sánchez) DOI: 10.3201/eid1505.080969 Figure 1. A) Location of the Alpujarras in southeastern Spain (37º00’–37º20’N and 3º00’–3º30’W). B) Bioclimatic levels (shading) and villages (black dots) where serum samples were collected from dogs to examine for leishmaniasis prevalence and sandflies were collected to estimate densities, April–June 2006. Of 1,675 sandflies captured, 269 were identified by morphologic appearance as Phlebotomus perniciosus (density 0–165 specimens/m 2 ) and 22 as P. ariasi (0 and 11 specimens/m 2 ).