Prevalence and Factors Associated with Leishmania infantum Infection of Dogs from an Urban Area of Brazil as Identified by Molecular Methods | Zendy

Wendel CouraVital | Zendy; Marcos José Marques | Zendy; Vanja Maria Veloso | Zendy; Bruno Mendes Roatt | Zendy; Rodrigo Dian de Oliveira AguiarSoares | Zendy; Levi Eduardo Soares Reis | Zendy; Samuel Leôncio Braga | Zendy; Maria Helena Franco Morais | Zendy; Alexandre Barbosa Reis | Zendy; Mariângela Carneiro | Zendy

Open Access

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Leishmania infantum Infection of Dogs from an Urban Area of Brazil as Identified by Molecular Methods

Author(s) -

Wendel CouraVital,

Marcos José Marques,

Vanja Maria Veloso,

Bruno Mendes Roatt,

Rodrigo Dian de Oliveira AguiarSoares,

Levi Eduardo Soares Reis,

Samuel Leôncio Braga,

Maria Helena Franco Morais,

Alexandre Barbosa Reis,

Mariângela Carneiro

Publication year - 2011

Publication title -

plos neglected tropical diseases

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 1.99

H-Index - 135

eISSN - 1935-2735

pISSN - 1935-2727

DOI - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001291

Subject(s) - leishmania infantum , visceral leishmaniasis , veterinary medicine , serology , leishmaniasis , leishmania , restriction fragment length polymorphism , medicine , biology , polymerase chain reaction , immunology , parasite hosting , antibody , biochemistry , world wide web , computer science , gene

Background Various factors contribute to the urbanization of the visceral leishmaniasis (VL), including the difficulties of implementing control measures relating to the domestic reservoir. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis in an urban endemic area in Brazil and the factors associated with Leishmania infantum infection among seronegative and PCR-positive dogs. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Blood samples were collected from 1,443 dogs. Serology was carried out by using two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (Biomanguinhos/FIOCRUZ/RJ and “in house”), and molecular methods were developed, including PCR-RFLP. To identify the factors associated with early stages of infection, only seronegative (n = 1,213) animals were evaluated. These animals were divided into two groups: PCR-positive (n = 296) and PCR-negative (n = 917) for L. infantum DNA. A comparison of these two groups of dogs taking into consideration the characteristics of the animals and their owners was performed. A mixed logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with L. infantum infection. Principal Findings Of the 1,443 dogs examined, 230 (15.9%) were seropositive in at least one ELISA, whereas PCR-RFLP revealed that 356 animals (24.7%) were positive for L. infantum DNA. Results indicated that the associated factors with infection were family income

The content you want is available to Zendy users.

Already have an account? Click here to sign in.

Having issues? You can contact us here

Accelerating Research