PCR sensitivity of peripheral blood of dogs co-infected with Leishmania spp. and Ehrlichia spp. in endemic area of Brazil

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Ana Paula Stefanello da Silveira, Victor Bruno Duarte Vieira, Leticia Surian Batalini, Silvia Barbosa do Carmo, Elisabete Friozi, Eduardo José de Arruda, Manoel Sebastião da Costa Lima Junior, Herintha Coeto Neitzke-Abreu
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Canine visceral leishmaniasis; PCR; Sensitivity; Peripheral blood; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0040-2018; https://doaj.org/article/5d6ca42b78974a859fae457fd6d27492

Abstract INTRODUCTION Peripheral blood of 400 dogs infected with Leishmania and Ehrlichia were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and clinical signs were characterized. METHODS PCR and parasitological tests were conducted. RESULTS PCR was positive for Leishmania in 84.75%, and parasitological tests showed that 63.25% and 31.75% were positive for Leishmania and Ehrlichia, respectively. All animals showed more than three clinical signs. PCR results were negative for Leishmania in 15.25% of the samples. CONCLUSIONS Conventional PCR of peripheral blood can be used for diagnosing canine visceral leishmaniasis in combination with other techniques, especially in uncertain cases that need species identification.