Author Correction: Challenges in the serological evaluation of dogs clinically suspect for canine leishmaniasis

In Figure 1C, D, and E the positive and negative controls are missing. The correct Figure 1 appears below

Challenges in the serological evaluation of dogs clinically suspect for canine leishmaniasis

Canine leishmaniasis is a major veterinary issue and also a public health challenge due to its zoonotic potential. In this context, serological evaluation is essential for Canine leishmaniasis management. Several serological alternatives, such as rapid diagnostic tests, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT), are well established. In fact, the capacity of distinct tests and antigens, evaluated by their sensitivity and specificity, to detect disease is normally considered sufficient for diagnosing Canine leishmaniasis. In this context, we evaluated the seropositivity using 8 different serological tests (ELISA with Leishmania recombinant proteins (rK39, LicTXNPx); soluble promastigote Leishmania antigens (SPLA); commercial ELISA test) in 82 clinically suspect animals from Northern Portugal. The obtained serological data originated 50% of inconclusive serological information with a mixture of seropositive and seronegative results for individual animals. Cut-off independent risk groups were then generated from the serological data to evaluate the clustering of the samples. This analysis originated risk groups that correlated with the most seropositive samples, suggesting that this method might be used, in a cut-off independent manner, to improve conventional serological evaluation. Ultimately, given that no test prioritization exists, the use of any single serological test increases the potential for misdiagnosis, along with all associated risks for the dog as well as public health. The use of a cut-off independent analysis has the potential to improve the predictive values of these tests, enabling a more accurate evaluation of the dog’s condition.Our sincere thanks to Dr. Steven Reed - Infectious Disease Research Institute, Seattle, USA for providing the rK39 used in the study. This work was financed by: FEDER-Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020-Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274) and project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)” Ó. Felgueiras and M. Brito were partially supported by CMUP (UID/MAT/00144/2019), which is funded by FCT (Portugal) with national (MCTES) and European structural funds through the programs FEDER, under the partnership agreement PT2020