Seroprevalence of Leishmania infantum in dogs from the Central-North mesoregion of the state of Piauí

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a disease caused by the protozoan Leishmania infantum, with dogs (Canis familiaris) being considered the main reservoir of the disease in urban environments. The disease is endemic in the state of Piauí and there is a growing trend in some regions of the state. The detection of new areas with the occurrence of canine LV is the milestone to begin investigation, surveillance and epidemiological monitoring. The objective was to evaluate the seroprevalence of Leishmania infantum in dogs in the municipality of Domingos Mourão, Piauí, and report clinical signs suggestive of the disease. Blood samples were collected to obtain serum from 231 dogs, 174 of which were from rural areas and 57 from urban areas. All animals underwent clinical evaluation to record clinical signs suggestive of canine leishmaniasis. The serum samples were subjected to the Dual Path Platform Rapid Test (TR DPP®, Biomanguinhos) for screening and subsequently the samples were subjected to the enzyme immunoassay (ELISA®, Biomanguinhos). The most observed clinical signs were onychogryphosis (93.10%), enlarged popliteal lymph nodes (75.86%) and weight loss (27.58%). Of the samples analyzed, 12.56% (29/231) were reactive and 82.68% (191/231) were non-reactive. In the urban area, 12.28% (7/57) were reactive, 85.97% (49/57) were non-reactive, and 1.75% (1/57) indeterminate. In the rural area, 12.64% (22/174) were reactive, 81.61% (142/174) non-reactive, confirming the presence of anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies circulating in dogs in the municipality through the ELISA method and warning the implementation of surveillance actions and control, to prevent the spread of the disease and the occurrence of human cases.