High frequency of visceral leishmaniasis in dogs under veterinary clinical care in an intense transmission area in the state of Tocantins, Brazil

摘要

A direct search for parasites were used as the diagnostic test to determine the frequency of Leishmania spp. infection in dogs ( Canis lupus familiaris ) under veterinary clinical care in the city of Aragua?-na, Tocantins, Brazil. For this approach, lymph node cell samples were collected using needle aspiration from 649 dogs of different breeds and ages. Two hundred and sixty four (40.7%) dogs tested positive for amastigote forms of Leishmania spp. Furthermore, 202 (76.5%) dogs that tested positive showed some clinical sign of disease, while 62 (28.4%) dogs were asymptomatic. Dogs <2 years old or those that lived alongside poultry species in peri-domicile areas had a greater chance of infection (P<0.05). Our results revealed the importance of frequently monitoring leishmaniasis in dogs, and the need to train veterinary professionals who work in high-transmission areas on the clinical diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis.