Abstract
The midwest region of Brazil has witnessed an increase in the number of cases of human (HVL) and canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the population's perception of these diseases, factors associated with CVL, its spatial distribution, and the prevalence of anti-Leishmania spp. in 385 dogs, determined using a commercially available immunochromatographic rapid test and confirmed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Of the 385 samples, 54 were positive for CVL and confirmed by ELISA, corresponding to a prevalence of 14%. Knowledge of signs of CVL by tutors (p = 0.038); previous occurrence of CVL in the vicinity (p = 0.022); symptomatic dog(s) (p = 0.014), splenomegaly (p = 0.055), and ear ulcer(s) (p = 0.059) were significantly associated with CVL. The results revealed a significant prevalence of CVL spatially distributed in rural and urban contexts. The association between environmentally related variables and perception and the occurrence of CVL underscores the importance of implementing control and prevention strategies primarily focused on environmental management and health education activities.
Highlights
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a potentially fatal anthropozoonosis, with an estimated incidence of 50,000 to 90,000 new human cases worldwide each year (WHO, 2019)
Most cases of canine form of VL (CVL) are reported in Brazil (WHO, 2019), with Leishmania infantum (Kinetoplastida, Trypanosomatidae) being the etiological agent (Ready, 2014), which is transmitted to vertebrate hosts mainly by two species of Phlebotominae, Lutzomyia longipalpis and Lutzomyia cruzi (Missawa & Lima, 2006)
2 α p(1− p) d2, the calculated sample size was 385 dogs, which considered the ratio of dogs to humans in the area of 7:1 and a population estimated in 2017 to be 12.484 inhabitants in a territorial extension of 4.934.713 km2 (IBGE, 2018), with a confidence level of 95%, acceptable error of 5%, and prevalence of 50% (Brasil, 2014), using the software EpiInfo (7.1.4)
Summary
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a potentially fatal anthropozoonosis, with an estimated incidence of 50,000 to 90,000 new human cases worldwide each year (WHO, 2019). The canine form of VL (CVL) is recognized by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as an important disease due to its clinical characteristics, transmissibility and zoonotic potential, and the number of regions becoming Leishmania endemic has grown significantly in recent years (OIE, 2020). In the Americas, Brazil accounts for approximately 96% of cases of human VL (HVL), which continues to experience geographic expansion, mainly in the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest (OPAS, 2018a) regions. Leishmania infantum transmission control measures recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health are focused on the diagnosis and treatment of human cases, reduction of the phlebotomine population, and measures to combat the reservoir, including diagnosis and euthanasia of seroreactive dogs (Brasil, 2014). The use of spatial analysis tools makes it possible to understand the disease expansion process, including spatial patterns of distribution and identification of risk areas (Silva et al, 2017)
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