EVIDENCE OF Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum INFECTION IN DOGS FROM JUIZ DE FORA, MINAS GERAIS STATE, BRAZIL, BASED ON IMMUNOCHROMATOGRAPHIC DUAL-PATH PLATFORM (DPP®) AND PCR ASSAYS

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: José Geraldo Castro-Júnior, Mariana Lourenço Freire, Samantha Priscila Silva Campos, Kezia K.G. Scopel, Renato Porrozzi, Edimilson Domingos Da Silva, Fabio A. Colombo, Rita de Cássia Viveiros da Silveira, Marcos José Marques, Elaine Soares Coimbra
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2014
• Subjects: Canine visceral leishmaniasis; Serological diagnosis; Immunochromatographic diagnosis; DPP; PCR diagnosis; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46652014000300008; https://doaj.org/article/54fb4b95ea3548feb781adcc7fa18b21

In Brazil, domestic dogs are branded as the primary reservoir for zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis, due to the clear positive correlation observed between human and canine infection rates. This study aimed to carry out a serological survey of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in dogs housed at a public kennel in the municipality of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, using the immunochromatographic TR DPP® CVL rapid test. Additionally, conventional and/or real time PCR assay was used to detect and confirm L. infantum infection in the DPP positive dogs only. Of the 400 dogs studied, most did not present clinical signs for CVL (p < 0.05), and fifteen (3.8%) were seropositive in the DPP test. There was no statistically significant difference between the DPP seropositive dogs and the clinical signs of the disease (p > 0.05). Both conventional and real time PCR tests confirmed L. infantum infection in nine (75.0%) of the twelve DPP seropositive dogs that remained alive during the follow-up period. This study is the first seroepidemiologic survey of CVL held in the city of Juiz de Fora, and the results reinforce the idea that this disease is currently in a process of expansion and urbanization in Brazil. Furthermore, this study highlights the use of the DPP test as an alternative for diagnosing CVL in large and mid-sized cities, due to its ease of implementation.