Prevalence of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in dogs in an endemic area of Brazil

• Main Authors: Danillo de Souza Pimentel, Rafael Antonio Nascimento Ramos, Marília de Andrade Santana, Carina Scanoni Maia, Gílcia Aparecida de Carvalho, Hernande Pereira da Silva, Leucio Câmara Alves
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2015-01-01
• Series: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Subjects: Leishmaniasis; Dog; Serology; Geographic information system
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822015005042014&lng=en&tlng=en

INTRODUCTION: The northeast region of Brazil is endemic for zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of infection in dogs in Petrolina. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from dogs (n = 600), and bone-marrow biopsy was performed in animals with positive serological test results that presented clinical signs of ZVL. The serological analyses were performed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (S7(r)Biogene). RESULTS: Of the 600 dogs tested, 19% (115/600) presented anti-L. infantum chagasi antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: Our data are important because canine infection is an important risk factor for the human disease.