Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Visceral leishmaniasis and Chagas disease in dogs from Tocantins
By Morais, Arielle Nunes et al.·Published in Revista brasileira de parasitologia veterinaria = Brazilian journal of veterinary parasitology : Orgao Oficial do Colegio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinaria·2013·College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine visceral leishmaniasis and Chagas disease among dogs in Araguaína, Tocantins.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs in Araguaína, Brazil, were tested for two serious diseases: canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) and Chagas disease. Out of 111 dogs, 61 tested positive for leishmaniasis using one method, while another method confirmed 57 cases. Additionally, five dogs showed signs of Chagas disease. These findings highlight the challenges in accurately diagnosing CVL, especially in areas where it is common, and suggest that dogs can be infected with both diseases at the same time.
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Abstract
The present study analyzed serum samples from 111 male and female dogs of various ages from the municipality of Araguaína in the State of Tocantins, Brazil. Serological diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) was initially performed at the Central Laboratory (Laboratório Central - LACEN) of Araguaína, resulting in 61 positive samples by an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) (≥1:40) and 50 non-reactive samples. The same samples were analyzed at the São Paulo Institute of Tropical Medicine (Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo - IMTSP) by an enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), resulting in 57 positive samples (51.35%) and 54 negative samples (48.64%). The Kappa coefficient of agreement between the tests was 0.74. The serum samples were also subjected to a diagnostic assay for Trypanosoma cruzi (Trypomastigote Excreted/Secreted Antigens -TESA-blot) that detected five suspect animals; three of those animals were positive for leishmaniasis by ELISA but negative by IIFA. These findings suggest that the canine population of Araguaína may be simultaneously infected with Leishmania chagasi and T. cruzi. The results obtained demonstrate the difficulty of using serology to detect CVL, thus emphasizing the necessity for a reference test to diagnose CVL, particularly in regions where the infection is endemic.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23802237/