First description of autochthonous canine visceral leishmaniasis in the metropolitan region of Vitória, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Marco André Loureiro Tonini, Elenice Moreira Lemos, Alexandre Barbosa Reis, Wendel Coura Vital, Edelberto Santos Dias, Reynaldo Dietze
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2012
• Subjects: Leishmaniose visceral canina autóctone; Região Metropolitana de Vitória; Área não-endêmica para leishmaniose visceral; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0037-86822012000600019; https://doaj.org/article/a1cb8171c39443c4838f617f292036a7

INTRODUCTION: We investigated autochthonous canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in the metropolitan region of Vitória (MRV), an area in which a human case was previously reported. METHODS: Serological, parasitological, and molecular tests were performed in 201 dogs. RESULTS: Twenty-six (13%) and 12 (6%) dogs were identified as positive using in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and rK39 tests, respectively. Two dogs had a positive culture for Leishmania chagasi, and 4 were polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive for Leishmania spp. One positive dog belonged to the aforementioned patient. CONCLUSIONS: Although the responsible vector was not found, our results provide evidence of autochthonous CVL in the MRV, a non-endemic area for VL.