Leishmania chagasi em cães no município de Jaciara, Mato Grosso, Brasil

Abstract

The visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a disease caused by Leishmania chagasi and transmitted by the bite of female sand flies. The dog is considered the main agent reservoir in urban areas and euthanasia of seropositive dogs is one of the LV control methods. The techniques used for the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in Brazil, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and Reaction Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA), were widely questioned due to the accuracy of these tests. In this context, molecular tests have been used to characterize the agent. In order to isolate by axenic culture, identify the species of Leishmania circulating in dogs and compare the detection by reaction techniques Polymerase Chain (PCR) and isozyme analysis were euthanized, 101 seropositive dogs for LV to test ELISA and IFA, from the urban area of Jaciara, Mato Grosso, an endemic county for LV and collected the spleen samples, bone marrow, skin and blood to study. Using PCR, the spleen showed better detection percentage, followed by bone marrow and 97 (96.03%) dogs Leishmania DNA was detected and confirmed as L. chagasi. The axenic culture showed 60 (15%) isolates with bone marrow showing higher percentage of isolation of L. chagasi. In 13 (12.87%) dogs was possible to characterize the agent by isoenzyme electrophoresis. These results conclude that L. chagasi circulating in dogs from the urban zone of Jaciara, expanding information on the distribution of the parasite in the state and emphasize the importance of etiological identification sympatric area with other agents, especially where euthanasia is method expansion of disease control.