Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Leishmaniasis exposure found in 40% of urban dogs in Brazil
By Dantas-Torres, Filipe et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2006·Departamento de Imunologia, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Seroepidemiological survey on canine leishmaniasis among dogs from an urban area of Brazil.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
In an urban area of Brazil, a survey found that 40.3% of pet dogs tested positive for exposure to Leishmania parasites, which cause canine leishmaniasis. Most of these dogs, about 85.3%, showed no signs of illness, meaning they were asymptomatic. The study highlighted that male and younger dogs were more likely to test positive. This suggests that many dogs may carry the infection without showing symptoms, indicating that the actual prevalence of Leishmania in this area might be higher than previously thought.
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Abstract
A cross-sectional seroepidemiological survey on canine leishmaniasis among pet dogs was carried out in an urban area in the State of Pernambuco (Brazil) where human cases of visceral leishmaniasis have sporadically been reported. Using an indirect fluorescent antibody test, anti-Leishmania antibodies were detected in 130 out of 322 dogs, confirming previous exposure to Leishmania parasites. The overall seroprevalence found was 40.3% (95% confidence interval: 34.9-45.9). Data analysis revealed that serological positivity was statistically associated with male (chi2=20.60, P-value=0.000) and juvenile dogs (chi2=4.24, P-value=0.039). Furthermore, it was observed that 85.3% of all seropositive dogs showed no clinical signs of leishmaniasis. The results showed a high seroprevalence of anti-Leishmania antibodies among dogs from an urban area of Pernambuco - with a large proportion of asymptomatic seropositive dogs - indicating that the prevalence of Leishmania infection in this area has been underestimated.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16621286/