First case of canine visceral leishmaniasis in the midwestern of Santa Catarina State, Brazil

Abstract

Canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) caused by Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum is transmitted by phlebotomine sandflies and a major zoonotic disease in Brazil. Due to the southward expansion of the disease within the country and the central role of dogs as urban reservoirs of the parasite, we have investigated the occurrence of CVL in two municipalities Erval Velho and Herval d’Oeste in the Midwest region of Santa Catarina state. Peripheral blood samples from 126 dogs were collected in both cities and tested for anti-L. infantum antibodies by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence reaction (IIF) and for the presence of parasite DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in peripheral blood. From examined dogs, 35.71% (45/126) were positive for at least one of the three tests and two (1.6%) were positive in all performed tests. Twelve dogs (9.5%) were positive for both ELISA and IIF, while 21 dogs were exclusively positive for ELISA (16.7%), and 15 (11.9%) for IIF. L. infantum k-DNA was detected by PCR in 9 out of 126 dogs (7.1%) and clinical symptoms compatible with CVL were observed for 6 dogs. Taken together, these results indicate the transmission of CVL in this region, highlighting the needs for epidemiological surveillance and implementation of control measures for CVL transmission in this region.

First molecular description of autochthonous urban cases of canine visceral leishmaniasis in the city of Belém, Pará, Brazil

“…Several studies in other Brazilian cities have described autochthonous cases of CL (Tolezano et al, 2007;Silva et al, 2011;Faria et al, 2017, Silva et al, 2018Rocha et al, 2018, Pinto et al, 2021. Furthermore, although animals from Belém have been diagnosed with leishmaniasis (antibody detection) in two other studies (Campos et al, 2017, Schwanke et al, 2014 neither study indicated that the animals were born in Belém and never lived or traveled to endemic areas, as described for the animals in this study.…”

Ecological aspects of Pintomyia fischeri and Migonemyia migonei in municipalities with Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis, State of São Paulo, Brazil

“…However, in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (RMSP), state of São Paulo, CVL occurs in rural areas close to forest fragments, which provides access for dogs to these fragments, in addition to socializing with other animals around the house, such as cats, swine, equine and chickens. In the state of Santa Catarina, Pinto et al (2022) found the same situation in relation to dogs with CVL, that is, the presence and possible and possible entry into forest areas, in addition to the occurrence of poultry and swine farms in the vicinity of the houses. In the RMSP, sand fly collections were carried out in places where cases of CVL occurred, however, the L. longipalpis vector was only detected in the municipality of Caieiras ( Pimont et al, 2015 ).…”

Canine Leishmaniasis in Southern Brazil: Diagnosis and Clinical Features in Domestic Dogs

“…The first CanL autochthonous case was reported in São Borja, a city bordering the province of Corrientes, Argentina, in 2008 [4]. Other studies detected CanL in geographical regions of Argentina bordering Brazil as well as in cities from the Brazilian southernmost states (Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina) a few years later [5][6][7][8]. The recent widespread dispersion of Lu.…”