Contribution for the diagnostic briefing in canine visceral leishmaniasis as a tool for epidemiologic monitoring and control of this disease

Abstract

Visceral Leishmaniasis(VL) is a zoonotic infectious disease of world-wide distribution that has as ethiologic agents protozoas of the Leishmania sp sort of the complex L. donovani. In the two last decades, in Brazil, calazar increases in number of cases and geographic distribution being transferred from the country to the town. The current control methods basically involve the treatment of human cases, spraying of domiciles and peridomiciles with insecticides of residual action, and identification and elimination of serologicaly positive dogs. However, the biggest difficulty is related to the diagnosis of the canine VL, since the methods used for its control are based on the search of antibodies, that present some limitations. In this way, it is necessary the research and comparison of alternative diagnostic methods that improve the sensitivity and specificity, to guide better the decision, and the final destination of positive dogs, that are extremely important parasites reservoirs and of the point of view of public health, for allowing the dissemination of the illness in determined ecological niche. In such a way, the present study intends to compare the results of the serological tests using the reaction of indirect imunofluorescence(RIFI) and ELISA,cytological examination stained with Giemsa from linfonodes punction, as well as the technique of polymerase chain reaction(PCR) for DNA parasitic search. The materials will be collected of 100 serologicaly positive animals, immediately after to the euthanasia, proceeded in the Zoonosis Control Center in the city of Bauru, where CVL is endemic, and of 100 animals proceeding from the Small Animals Clinic of the Veterinarian Hospital (FMVZ-Unesp) in Botucatu-SP, with suspicion of other diseases. (AU)