Fig. 3.

Combined treatment with allopurinol and F2 + SLA-SE is required for sustained parasite clearance from the bone marrow of L. infantum-infected dogs. Bone marrow aspirates were collected from dogs before, and at intervals after, therapeutic intervention. L. infantum genome equivalents were determined by real time PCR. Animals were either not treated (n = 6) or were treated with allopurinol alone (n = 8) or allopurinol plus Leish-F2 + SLA-SE (n = 8). In (A), dogs were monitored throughout and real time PCR was conducted to quantify parasite genomes equivalents. Results are shown as line plot with the symbol marking the median and vertical error bars representing the interquartile range. In (B), results from each individual dog are displayed for each analyses time (indicated above each plot). Each point shows the parasite number detected for an individual animal, with the Box and Whisker representing the median, the lower and upper quartiles, and the maximum and minimum values per group. * = p-value < 0.05 versus untreated group.