Studies on canine visceral leishmaniasis in the municipality of Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5216/rpt.v40i2.14941Keywords:
Leishmania infantum chagasi, Public health, Molecular diagnosis, Parasitologic examination, Urban reservoir, Immunofluorescence antibody test.Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a zoonosis caused by Leishmania infantum chagasi.The canids play an important role in its epidemiology as they are natural reservoirs.
The present study aimed to investigate canine VL (CVL) in dogs from the city
of Goiania. A group of 214 dogs (symptomatic and asymptomatic) was assessed.
Blood samples, skin biopsies and lymph node aspirates were collected from the
animals. Twenty dogs were positive by immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT)
while only 6 presented amastigotes in the direct microscopic examination (DME).
The PCR tests, employed only for symptomatic animals or for those classified as
positive by at least one of the two previous methods (n=81), were positive for 7 dogs.
Positive samples by the DME were also positive by PCR. Only 7 out of 20 IFAT
positive samples were confirmed by PCR. Species-specific PCR results confirmed
the molecular identity of L. i. chagasi in these 7 animals. Among the samples
confirmed by PCR, two corresponded to the first autochthonous cases of CVL, in
the municipalities of Caldas Novas and Novo Brazil, and emphasized the urgent
need to enhance control strategies for CVL in these localities. The study revealed the
existence of CVL cases in dogs attending veterinary clinics in the city of Goiania.
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