Seroprevalence and risk factors for canine visceral leishmaniasis in the endemic area of Dias D’Ávila, State of Bahia, Brazil Soroprevalência e fatores de risco para leishmaniose visceral canina na área endêmica de Dias D’Ávila, Estado da Bahia, Brasil

1. School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil. 2. Faculty of Pharmacia, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil. 3. Departament of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. 4. Evandro Chagas Clinical Research Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Address to: Dra. Fernanda Washington de Mendonça-Lima. Faculdade de Farmácia/UFBA. Av. Barão de Geremoabo s/n, Ondina, 40170-290 Salvador, BA, Brasil. Phone/Fax: 55 71 3237-1912 e-mail: mlima@u#a.br Received in 07/02/2010 Accepted in 07/06/2010 ABST$CT Introduction: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important zoonosis in relation to public health systems. Dogs are the main domestic reservoir. $is study aimed to investigate occurrences of canine VL in Dias D’Ávila, State of Bahia, Brazil. Methods: $e prevalence was evaluated by means of clinical and laboratory tests on a population of 312 domestic dogs from 23 localities in this municipality, using indirect immuno%uorescence and immunoenzymatic assays. Results: Among the animals examined, 3.2% and 6.7% showed signs of VL, con*rmed by indirect immuno%uorescence and immunoenzymatic assays, respectively, with a distribution of 29.9% (24 dogs) in the rural zone and 4.9% (288 dogs) in the urban zone (p = 0.001). $e clinical evaluation on seropositive dogs showed both asymptomatic animals (2.4%) and symptomatic animals (47.6%), along with other abnormalities (e.g. normocytic and normochromic anemia, with leukocytosis and thrombocytopenia). Observations relating to phenotypic characteristics (e.g. sex, age, breed and hair) did not present statistical signi*cance, although high seropositivity among male, short-haired and mixed-breed dogs was observed. Conclusions: $e *ndings showed that VL was a predominantly rural zoonosis and that close contact between poultry and domestic dogs signi*cantly increased the risk of canine infection in this region. Key-words: Leishmania chagasi. Visceral leishmaniasis. Dogs. Kala-azar. Seroprevalence.