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Here, we provide an epidemiological analysis of leishmaniasis in Pernambuco, Brazil, from 2015 to 2019. Our results revealed 1,705 of American cutaneous leishmaniasis-ACL and 859 cases of visceral leishmaniasis-VL. VL and ACL affect children aged 1-4 years (23% and 3.2% of all cases, respectively) and adults aged 20-39 years (26% and 28%, respectively), mainly women. The highest percentage (54.6%) of VL cases was found in urban areas, while ACL occurred mainly in rural areas (63.2%). Individuals with a higher level of education were less affected by leishmaniasis and data on prognosis revealed good chances of clinical cure, but deaths are still recorded. These data show that preventive health actions must be developed to hinder leishmaniasis spread, reduce its impact on public health, and restore the population's life quality. This study can be useful in further elaboration of strategies to minimize leishmaniasis impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leishmaniasis are zoonoses of tropical climate, caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by the bite of the female sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis, the straw mosquito, the most common form being cutaneous leishmaniasis and the rarest and most serious being visceral leishmaniasis. The aim of this review is to describe the types of differential laboratory diagnosis of Cutaneous and Visceral Leishmaniasis, the parasitological, immunological, cytological/ histological, and molecular examinations. The diagnosis of leishmaniasis varies according to the clinical, epidemiological and laboratory aspects of the disease, and the execution and sensitivity of each exam may vary according to the clinical forms, so the parasitological and cytological/histological exams showed greater efficacy for a more accurate diagnosis simple, fast and effective, but one cannot forget about the immunological and molecular exams in which it has great precision of results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work aims to report a case of a Belgian Shepherd, from the municipality of Ponta Porã, Mato Grosso do Sul, positive for Visceral Leishmaniasis, treated in 2017 in a veterinary clinic located in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay. The diagnosis was confirmed through the characteristic clinical signs, and the positive ELISA and PCR tests. The animal was submitted to clinical treatment for improvement of symptoms, whose initial antiparasitic treatment was performed with the association of sodium stibogluconate 75 mg/kg and allopurinol 100 mg followed by alloputinol 100mg of continuous use and use of the antileishmaniasis collar. This treatment was considered efficient, with clinical improvement of the animal. After 24 months the animal was diagnosed with a breast tumor and scrotum injury, and was submitted to clinical and surgical treatment. At 30 and 36 months from the initial diagnosis, the ELISA tests (positive) and PCR (negative) were repeated, and then the animal was considered clinically cured due to the absence of clinical signs. Considering the complexity of the factors in the transmission cycle, it is concluded that the health measures are still insufficient for the effective control of the disease. The role of the veterinarian in public health is important, due to the obligatory notification of cases of Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis, being necessary efforts in the different areas of animal health, human and environment, aiming at measures of surveillance and control of the disease in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the epidemiological characteristics of calazar in the state of Ceará between 2011 and 2018. Methods: Retrospective and quantitative study, which had as data source notification forms of the National System of Notifiable Diseases of patients with calazar registered in Ceará. Results: During the study period, 7.894 cases of calazar were reported in Ceará. Fortaleza and Sobral were the municipalities with the highest number of cases, with males being the most affected. In addition, 46.63% of the cases used laboratory tests as a diagnosis. Regarding age, adults accounted for 46.5% of the cases, and children accounted for 31.39%. On the socio-educational conditions of the patients, the majority had incomplete elementary school and held occupations as a student and housewife. In the evolution of the patients, the cure rate was 71.2% and the death rate due to calazar was 3.6%, the other 7.7% correspond to transference and death from other causes. Among patients with VL, 9.79% had HIV co-infection. Conclusions: According to our results, calazar is a disease still very prevalent in the state of Ceará, with Fortaleza having the highest number of notifications. However, there is still a great underreporting of cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is the result of the Conversation Circle held during the V University Day in Defense of Land Reform, which has a direct relationship of partnerships in vector monitoring between the Federal University of Uberlândia Technical School of Health, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology - Uberlândia Campus and Association of Autonomous Recyclers and Pickers. Environmental degradation has spread arboviruses, including Aedes (Aegypti and albopictus) and Culex and its arboviruses. In urban areas Dengue, Chikungunya, West Nile Fever, Zika, Rocio and Mayaro; in rural (and even urban) environments, and in some wild cases, we have sand flies, popularly called "straw mosquito" or "cangalhinha" responsible for Visceral Leishmaniasis and/or Tegumentary Leishmaniasis; Haemagogus and Sabethes are responsible for the Yellow Wild Fever. The Conversation Circle occurred in the conception and dialogical construction about "What I do, what I know and what we need to know about environmental health in relation to vectors", considering [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a disease transmitted by phlebotomine sandflies, in a complex interaction with the nosogeography entity. This work is a geographical approach of VL in the state of São Paulo, supported by Ecological Niche Modeling. The goal is to verify the correlation between the spatial distribution of the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis and environmental variables, and verify the overlay distribution of reported human cases and final model of Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt). Data reports of the occurrence of Lu. longipalpis by municipalities from 1997-2016 were collected. Also environmental data from bioclimatic variables (BIOCLIM) in a 1km spatial resolution were collected. In the state, some variables were correlated with the sandfly distribution, such as: day-to-night ascilations in temperature (4%), maximum monthly temperature occurrence over a given year (16.1%), total precipitation during the driest month (22.7%), variation in monthly precipitation totals over the course of the year (16.7%), total precipitation that prevails during the wettest quarter (21.8%), total precipitation that prevails during the driest quarter (10.3%) and total precipitation that prevails during the coldest quarter (8.3%). The data clearly indicate a likelihood of expansion from the center of the state into Campinas and Piracicaba (east). Regarding the first expansion axis in the state, from center to the west, it is suggested working with the settlements, which can be a source of a specific case of VL expansion, the "new rural", enclosing the rural-urban-new rural hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease, constituting a serious public health problem and is divided into two main clinical groups, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Dogs are the main reservoirs of the parasite in the urban environment, since independently of the clinical form, they usually present high cutaneous parasitism. In dogs, the clinical manifestations are non-specific and varied. Laboratory findings of canine visceral leishmaniasis (VLC) include anemia, thrombocytopenia, hyperproteinemia, hypoalbuminemia, proteinuria and renal azotemia, which are also considered nonspecific and common findings in other endemic diseases in Brazil. Thus, the formation of the VLC diagnosis plan through clinical-pathological findings constitutes a challenge for the veterinarian, since it is broad. The definitive diagnosis of leishmaniasis involves parasitological, serological, as well as diagnostic tests such as molecular and culture. Addressing the differential diagnoses of VLC is the objective of this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to analyze the occurrence of cases of human visceral leishmaniasis (LVH) and its proximity to the areas of social risk in the municipality of Natal- RN. We analyzed 285 confirmed cases of LVH recorded in SINAN in the period from 2008 to 2018. Kernel analysis was used to overlap the cases and the areas of social risk. The average annual distance from each point to the nearest risk area was calculated. Kernel density revealed that the occurrence of cases is more prevalent in peripheral areas, mainly in areas located in the north and west, and overlapping the areas of social risk. The average distance between the cases and the closest risk area was 445 meters. There was a reduction in the mean distance between the cases and the areas of social risk each year, in the period of 2008 and 2013, and an increase in the period from 2014 to 2018. The shortest average distance was recorded in 2012 (227 meters) and the highest was in 2017 (677 meters). Spatial modeling showed that the dynamics of the occurrence of visceral leishmaniasis in the municipality of Natal-RN is related to the proximity of the areas of social risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to analyze the epidemiology of Visceral Canine Leishmaniasis (VCL) in the municipality of Itaporanga-PB between the years 2015 and 2016. 180 records of notification and investigation of suspected dogs deposited at the Municipal Health Department were retrieved, where the variables were analyzed using the absolute number and relative frequency, applying the chi-square test. The seroprevalence corresponded to 13,3% when associated to two diagnostic methodologies: rapid immunochromatographic test (TR DPP®) and ELISA (EI LCV). Of the 24 seropositive dogs, male (70,8%), undecided (79,2%), urban area (70,8%) and age greater than two years (70,8%) prevailed. The analysis of the clinical signs revealed statistical significance and presence of risk between alopecia (p= 0,001; OR= 7,474; PR= 4,237) and multiple wounds (p= 0,000; OR= 7,667; PR= 4,529) with seropositivity. Seroprevalence in Itaporanga-PB was compared to other municipalities in Paraíba, Northeast and Brazil, and the other variables and risk factors were discussed with the literature. Due to the epidemiological situation of the city, the continuation of canine serological surveys in subsequent years and the application of other prophylactic measures for parasitosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a zoonotic disease of great importance in public health and the actions performed by Zoonoses Services (ZS) can minimize their disorder. The objective was to evaluate the situation of zoonosis services of the counties in the health region of Presidente Prudente/SP and understand the role its play in health surveillance for visceral leishmaniasis. Was performed cartographic information on the epidemiological situation of the visceral leishmaniasis and the type ZS offered in the counties belonging of study. Of the 45 counties studied, 62.2% have fully structured ZS; 6.7% have no physical structure and partially function; 4.4% do not work and 26.7% do not possess. We conclude that, is of great relevance, the role played by ZSs in health surveillance and there is a high number of counties that do not have structured ZS, a fact that can make it difficult to control the visceral leishmaniasis, favoring the dissemination in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is the most severe clinical presentation of leishmaniasis and in South America, the dog (Canis familiaris) is the major source of infection in an anthropozoonotic cycle. Their epidemiological profile has been changed since 80's from rural to urban. In 2011, the disease urban emergence was demonstrated in the central region of Rio de Janeiro municipality by clusters of canine cases, mainly in Caju neighborhood, in addition to areas of historical endemism in the city. In this sense, this research aimed to characterize the panorama of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in this territory, based on the georeferencing of the positive cases from 2011 to 2014, referring to the laboratory results of the canine serological surveys conducted by the Paulo Darcoso Filho Unit (UPDF). The Campo Grande neighborhood presented the highest number of positive animals (121), followed by the Caju neighborhood (95). Considering the number of collections, the Caju neighborhood showed the highest case frequency with 27.7% (95/374), followed by Campo Grande with 25.5% (76/1076). For land use, Caju demonstrated predominant urban use, while the historical transmission regions were predominantly forest areas and modified forest. The results point to the high degree of positivity in a neighborhood with recent circulation of the parasite. With these data, we propose a greater systematization of the blood collections by epidemiological surveillance of the municipality, prioritizing neighborhoods where there are more positive animals and also those that have similar environmental characteristics, being potential areas of transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to research natural Leishmania sp equine infection in an endemic American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis area of Teresina City, Piauí State, Brazil. Leishmania are caused by intracellular hemoflagellate protozoa of the gender Leishmania. Clinically we can observe a variety of signals since cutaneous injuries until viscerotropic types which are more severe and potentially fatal. They constitute a great worldwide public health problem. The dog is considered the main domestic reservoir of American Visceral Leishmaniasis (AVL). In the peridomicile of rural abodes, the equines, although with less relevance than canines, may become an important host for this parasite. Peripheral blood was collected from 42 equines for DNA research of leishmania spp through the technique of "nested" PCR with oligonucleotides flanking the region ITS'1. The confirmation of the species was performed by the digestion of the amplified product with restriction enzyme Hae III. The animals did not present any suggestive clinical pathology signal, however, 21 (50%) were PCR positive for Leishmaniasis (14 equines, four donkeys and three mules). The digestion of the product from "nested" PCR permitted to identify DNA sequences of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum, characterizing the infection as American Visceral Leishmaniasis (AVL). The presence of infected equines with Leishmania (Leishmania) infantun suggests their participation in the cycle of visceral Leishmaniasis transmission in Teresina City, Piauí State, Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For an endemic disease caused visceral leishmaniasis in some regions of Brazil and hair transmitted protozoan Leishmania chagasi, being the vector transmitting the sandfly Lutzomia longipalpis. Due to the expansion of the disease in some areas of the national territory and analyze Necessary Elements Environmental Determinants in paragraph SPREAD do Vector hum Greater Control . Were INFORMATION explored as areas of Greater Incidence Starting NAS Brazilian regions, but with emphasis NAS Mining Regions and relating with OS Environmental Factors que CAN Be paragraph Determinants Generating a disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) disease is considered a dynamic illness, considering its transmission patterns transitions as well as the vector plasticity. The purpose of this research is to associate risk factors with Visceral Leishmaniasis occurence around Campo Grande City / Mato Grosso do Sul State (MS) urban area using statistical and spatial analysis of data. It is observed a positive correlation between cases of Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis (CVL) and Human Visceral Leishmaniasis (HVL). Also, between Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis and the neighborhood region. Negative correlation is noticed between the sewage system density and Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis. The map algebra shaped the risk areas for Visceral Leishmaniasis occurrence. Analyzes prove that there are favorable conditions for this zoonosis transmission. In addition, the risks of this disease are associated with canine and human densities as well as unworkable sanitation infrastructure. It is proposed that plans for Visceral Leishmaniasis disease surveillance and control are done properly in order to maximize population knowledge about the importance of having their dogs diagnosed, and also investments in sanitation aimed to population universal access taking into consideration that it is a basic condition for vector control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parasitic diseases are perpetuated by lack of information and or preventive actions. The purpose of this study was to assess the dog owners' knowledge about visceral leishmaniasis (VL) before and after an educational intervention in the city of Cruz das Almas, Bahia. In order to do so, 162 dog owners from six predefined neighborhoods volunteered to participate in an interview and answer a questionnaire about various aspects of the disease. At the end of the interview, the participants were given basic information and informational materials. Three months after the educational intervention, 60 dog owners were randomly chosen and assessed using the same questionnaire to ascertain how much about VL they had assimilated. The survey conducted prior to the educational activity indicated that only 5.5% (9/162) of the 162 participants understood the meaning of the term zoonosis, and only 3.7% (6/162) were able to give at least one example of a zoonotic disease. Three months after the intervention there was a statistically significant increase (p<0.05) of awareness of this information, indicated by the fact that 28.3% (17/60) of the owners were familiar with the term "zoonosis" and 18.3% (11/60) were able to describe at least one zoonotic disease correctly. This represented an almost five-fold increase in the percentage of knowledge about the two analyzed parameters. Prior to the intervention, about 42% of the dog owners believed they knew about VL/kalaazar, but only 1.2% (2/68) were able to describe its transmission correctly. The postassessment indicated that this value increased significantly (p<0.05) to 40% (24/60). The role of dogs in the disease as well as the awareness about the favorable environment for the reproduction of sand flies both showed a statistically significant percentage increase (p<0.05) from 1.2% (2/162) to 15% (9/60) and from 0% (0/162) to 21.7% (13/60), respectively. In general, the neighborhood where the highest level of awareness was proved before the intervention was also the one with the highest level of education among the participants, since about 35.7% (5/14) of them had university degrees, in contrast to the approximately 4% (6/148) of participants from the other neighborhoods. Dog owners' from the city of Cruz das Almas, Recôncavo da Bahia, knew little about VL, which can be reversed significantly after health education activities. Therefore, it reinforces the need for maintaining and expanding educational interventions to control VL and other diseases of interest to public health in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visceral Leishmaniasis, also called Kala-azar, tropical splenomegaly and fever dundun, is a zoonotic vector severe, chronic, life-threatening disease for males transmission. In Brazil, are highly relevant in public health, with high rates of incidence and mortality rates. The study aimed to investigate the epidemiological related deaths due to Visceral Leishmaniasis in Alagoas aspects. We used a descriptive epidemiological method and data were obtained from the Information System for Notifiable Diseases (ISND) and the Mortality Information System (MIS) of the Ministry of Health of the State of Alagoas. The study covered a period of six years (2007-2012). The variables studied were: mortality rate, sex, age, occupation, disease duration, time of onset, until the institution in the treatment, time from the start of treatment until death. 23 deaths out of a total of 210 confirmed cases were reported in the period, representing a mortality rate of 11 %, the mortality rate was up over the last three years ( 2010 to 5.55 %, 2011 to 16.21 % and from 2012 to 14.70 % ) . The majority of the deaths were of males. (60.86 %). In terms of occupation, students had higher death rate with 19.9 % . The progression of the disease until death was short for significant portion of patients. The increased lethality occurs due to low socioeconomic status, complications and late diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tools as Geographic Information System allow to map and identify areas at high risk for the occurrence of new cases of the visceral leishmaniasis (VL). The objective of this study was to evaluate the spatial distribution of VL in humans and dogs in the city of Petrolina, Pernambuco State, Brazil. It was performed a cross-sectional study of human cases between the years of 2001 and 2010 in Petrolina. We found 117 patients registered with disease. Of these, 35.89% were located and geocoded. Then, a serological study in dogs living in the same area where human cases have been identified was performed. The serological survey showed that of the 600 dogs evaluated, 19.16% were positive, and 73.04% belonged to urban area. After spatial analysis of human and canine cases, we observed the presence of clusters in both rural and urban area. However, in both cases, the concentration was higher in urban areas occurred and where loss of vegetation cover. However, when it was carried out the overlap of maps, no close association between canine and human cases of the disease have been found. In conclusion, spatial analysis of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Petrolina showed that the disease is in the process of urbanization, but without association between canine and human disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It addresses the socio-environmental characteristics of the area of river watershed Anajá, focusing on the imminence of urbanization, which favors the development of vectors and epidemics of visceral leishmaniasis. The study area is located in the municipality of Paço do Lumiar in the northeastern portion of the island of Maranhão. Rural area is peripheral to a heavily urbanized area with hot and humid tropical climate, average high temperature, the rainy season from January to June and dry from July to December and high relative humidity. The implementation of the research included steps such as: survey and analysis of the endemic situation, the environmental characteristics of the study area and urban expansion, with qualitative and quantitative approach. The thermal levels measured in the field proved to be favorable for the development of vectors for transmission of the disease under study, but the low level of territorial occupation allowed the conservation of natural breeding sites of the vector, with no domestic transmission of the disease. This situation, impacted by demographic pressures arising from urban sprawl, is at risk of developing diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence and spatial distribution of visceral leishmaniasis in dogs (VLD) at Juatuba city, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 2010. A crosssectional observational study was performed collecting blood samples from 957 dogs, defined randomly in all city districts. For the sorological diagnosis was used indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and enzyme-linked immunos orbent assay (ELISA), recommended by the Ministry of Health. Geographical coordinates of properties that participated in the survey were marked in order to check the spatial distribution of canine cases. The VLD prevalence was estimated in 10.6%, ranging from 3% to 50.0%, distributed between 70.6% of city districts. Spatial distribution could be observed by scanning the clusters and according to the disease occurrences the demarcation of different risk areas could be obtained. There was an increase of 2.80 times more likely to acquire the VLD on the primary cluster. As of this research the prevention and control actions for VLD were made according to the specificity of each location to prevent the disease spread among dogs and new human cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visceral leishmaniasis is a serious disease. Represents an important public health problem, which is already distributed in 65 countries, among them Brazil stands out because, in addition to high mortality rates, shows increase in cases and expand into new areas. Since the 1990 autochthonous cases were reported in Sao Paulo and today the disease manifests itself in 100 municipalities. Accordingly, the aim of this work is represents cartographically, through maps, cases of visceral leishmaniasis in São Paulo, Brazil, as well as apply statistic (autocorrelation), to check some features about the disease. Thus, it was possible to infer that there is a distribution of leishmaniasis mainly between the northwest and west of the state and that there is a tendency for the risk of disease spatialization in western state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease whose etiologic agents are different species of protozoa of the genus Leishmania, transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes infected Lutzomyia longipalpis. Are zoonoses that affect humans and animals, causing visceral and cutaneous changes. We conducted an epidemiological survey of human cases of visceral leishmaniasis in the Mossoró-RN in the period from 2006 to 2012 and euthanasia in dogs. The data were provided by Information System Diseases and Notification (SINAN) and the Center for Zoonosis Control respectively. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between the number of cases of human visceral leishmaniasis and increased contamination in dogs being analyzed due to the positivity and euthanasia performed by the Center for Zoonosis Control. We observed a total of 250 cases of human visceral leishmaniasis, presenting highest among males (52%), and children younger than 5 years was the most affected. During the period was euthanized a total of 10.703 dogs from canine serological surveys conducted by CCZ, representing 16,1% seropositivity. Since the positivity of private clinics and animals delivered by the owners with apparent symptoms or other reasons accounted for 30% of disease prevalence. Observing a relationship with the growing number of cases of human and canine cases, due to greater environmental contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The canine visceral leishmaniasis (CanL) is a chronic parasitic disease caused by protozoa belonging to the genus Leishmania. In Brazil, the transmission occurs mainly by the action of blood-sucking insects belonging to the subfamily Phlebotominae, particularly the Lutzomyia longipalpis species. However, the venereal and vertical transmission of the CanL is present. The main clinical signs observed in animals affected by the CanL are lymphadenopathy, skin diseases, hepatosplenomegaly, onychogryphosis and ophthalmopathy, however atypical manifestations can be observed, including the involvement of the genital system. Thus, the aim of this paper is to review on the major pathologies in genital male and female dogs with visceral leishmaniasis (VL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brazil faces an expansion and urbanization of American visceral leishmaniasis with human and canine cases in several metropolises. This report describes two cases of autochthonous canine visceral leishmaniasis in the city of Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina, classified as an area previously without disease transmission. Case: Five dogs from Canto dos Araçás, Lagoa da Conceição, Florianópolis municipality, which had no history of displacement to other municipalities, were studied by collecting clinical specimens in an attempt to isolate the parasite and to confirm the infection by Leishmania. For sampling the animals were sedated and after local shaving, asepsis and anesthesia with lidocaine HCl 2%, two fragments of apparently healthy skin of the scapular region with the aid of a 3 mm punch were obtained. The two fragments were placed in sterile saline plus antibiotics and antifungal agents solution to attempt the isolation of the parasite in NNN culture medium plus Schneider's medium. In addition to the collection of skin fragment, animals underwent bone marrow (BM) needle aspiration, obtained from the manubrium of the sternum, using a 20 mL syringe with 40x12 mm needle and aspiration biopsy of popliteal lymph nodes using Valeri citoaspirador 10 mL syringe and 25x8 mm needle, both performed after local shaving, asepsis and anesthesia with 2% lidocaine. The material collected from punctures biopsies was also seeded in an attempt of isolating the parasites. Among the five examined animals, in three cases promastigotes were isolated, two of which through the cultivation of skin fragments and one through a punctured sample of the lymph node. In two cases isoenzymatic characterization and identifying parasites such as Leishmania chagasi could be performed. Discussion: The LVC findings in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina generates great concern due to lack of knowledge of the actual spread of the disease, transmission dynamics in this area, knowledge of the vector, wild reservoirs and even in real¬tion to the canine population exposed, for the first time, to Leishmania chagasi. These peculiar conditions may contribute to the onset of an abrupt expansion of the disease, differently from endemic regions. This fact can also be observed in many other cities in Brazil, mainly due to the development and expansion of road networks and the popularity of air travel, which increases the transit of people and their pets thereby increasing the risk of dispersion, not only of LVC, as of other infectious diseases to non-endemic areas. Another important point which causes dispersion of the LVC is related to some owners' attempt to get around the main control method, which is euthanasia for positive dogs, and end up moving their animals to areas where there is no endemic canine serological survey, endangering the population of these areas. The use of some tools could avoid this type of dispersal, as the tighter control of the movement of dogs from endemic areas, implementation of mandatory serological diagnosis and mandatory reporting of positive canine cases. Moreover, educational measures to educate dog owners and veterinarians from the public and private sectors would also help in trying to minimize this problem. In this sense, it is extremely important that the entomological and epidemiological surveillance aimed at LVC are deployed and implemented in free areas, aiming at detecting the presence of vector and/or canine enzootic diseases before installing the anthropozoonotic cycle, allowing unprecedented action aimed at preventing the occurrence of disease in humans, or even prepare the health services and the population to fight the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant increase in the number of reported cases of visceral leishmaniasis and geographic expansion of the disease have motivated the development of new technologies in the health services available to assist in the diagnosis of leishmaniasis. This current study compared histology with hematoxylin and eosin(HE) and the immunohistochemistry (IHC) method for detection of amastigotes of Leishmania spp. in skin, liver, spleen, lymph node and kidney fragments fixed informalin and embedded in paraffin for 25 dogs serologically positive for disease. The positivity was 76% for HE and 84% for IHC, the latter being a more sensitive technique for the identification of the parasite. The lymph node and liver were the organs of choice for IHC and spleen for HE. The methodologies developed in this study provide an additional contribution to other available methods for the diagnosis of leishmaniasis, practical use for the public health system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canine visceral leishmaniasis is a severe disease and the death occurs from renal failure, whereas conventional diagnostic methods do not allow the animal clinical staging. The aim of this study was to associate the renal parasite load to clinical and histopathological findings in dogs with visceral leishmaniasis. Microscopic analysis revealed a predominance of mononuclear interstitial nephritis of varying degrees in 59, 3% of dogs evaluated. However, no difference was found between the renal parasite load of symptomatics and oligosymptomatics (P= 0,35). Renal lesions were inflammatory order and amount of parasites not influenced the characteristics of theses lesions nor biochemical changes, even in dogs with different clinical classifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some clinical manifestations occur in an unusual way in canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). The study describes unusual ophthalmic and orthopedic clinical signs of such disease. One dog had claudication. Physical examination was carried out. X-rays of the joints and synovial fluid cytology were requested. Ocular cytological techniques were also used as well as serology for LVC. There were clinical changes in carpal and tarsal joints. There was also a lump in the lower left conjunctiva. X-rays revealed arthritis. The synovial and ocular nodule cytology showed presence of Leishmania sp. The serology revealed a reactive LVC. Knowledge of the unusual clinical picture of this disease is important in the correct request of complementary exams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The leishmaniases are zoonotic infections of great importance in public health and represent 75% of emerging diseases in the world. Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected disease that have demonstrating endemic in the city Caruaru-PE. The study aimed to report a clinical case of canine visceral leishmaniasis with laboratory confirmation and epidemiological for the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many organs are affected by Leishmania, the inflammatory response or by deposition of immune complexes. The objective of this study was to analyze different regions of the skin, lymph nodes, spleen and liver of dogs with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) to determine the parasite load (qPCR) and the proportion of macrophages, lymphocytes and plasma cells (immunohistochemistry). We used 16 symptomatic dogs naturally infected from endemic area for VL and five uninfected dogs. The spleen presented the highest parasite load, followed by of the lymph nodes, skin and liver. In the spleen and lymph nodes the intensity of granulomatous inflammation was more evident than in liver and skin. The infiltrate rich in macrophages and lymphocytes predominated in infected dogs. It was concluded that the parasite could induce an inflammatory response inefficient in controlling infection, especially in the most susceptible organs of dogs with more severe clinical signs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the immuno-inflammatory changes and structural in the eye of dogs naturally infected by Leishmania infantum. Ten mongrel adult dogs of both sexes, varied age and weight were used. The animals were selected by Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA), enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with titers ≥ 1:40 considered seropositive, and the presence of ocular lesions. Animals were euthanized and samples of the right eye were collected by surgical procedure, stored in formalin and submitted to classical histology procedure (H & E). Data were expressed as a percentage. The major changes observed were keratoconjunctivitis (90%), periocular ulceration (80%), uveitis (60%), blepharitis (50%) and swelling (30%). We conclude that ophthalmic alterations can be considered characteristic findings in canine visceral leishmaniasis, which is very an important assessment to assist in differential diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a serious chronic disease that affects humans and animals. Kidney changes is characterized by interstitial nephritis and glomerulonephritis (GN). There is evidence that inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1B, IL-4, may be involved in the pathogenesis of GN (MAIN et al. 1992). This study used BALB/c mice infected with amastigotes of L. chagasi in order to evaluate cytokines (IL-1B and IL-4) in the renal lesions . The results suggest that the cytokines IL-4 and IL-1B participate in the modulation of the immune response of the LV experimental glomerulonephritis in a murine model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is caused by Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi. Renal changes are frequently characterized by interstitial nephritis and glomerulonephritis. The treatment of the human VL is done with drugs that has a strong nephrotoxicity or even lead to the development of resistance (Croft et al. 2003). This limitation has led to the search of treatment with plant extracts (Tempone et al., 2005). The carvacrol is present in many vegetable oil that and has been exploited as an inhibitor of the growth of various pathogens (Du et al. 2008). Our results suggest that carvacrol acetate in concentration of 0.05 mg% is nephrotoxic, because uninfected animals treated showed an increase in the number of glomerular cells and thickening of the vessel wall relative to uninfected and untreated animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The immune response of dogs with Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis (CVL) presents an altered cytokine profile, with a predominance of proinflammatory cytokines (resistance) or antiinflammatory (susceptibility). There is an imbalance between Th1 and Th2 responses in affected animals. The evaluation of transcription factors such as T-bet is essential for understanding the role of citokine imbalance in CVL. Popliteal lymph nodes were evaluated in sixteen symptomatic dogs in the city of Araçatuba, SP, CVL-endemic area. The control group was composed of five dogs from routine necropsy of the Department of Pathology from FCAV-UNESP, SP, free area from CVL. The evaluation of the relative expression of T-bet was performed by RT-qPCR and normalized to β-actin gene. The animals in the symptomatic group showed higher expression of this transcription factor (p <0.05) when compared to control animals. This result demonstrates that T-bet participates in the differentiation of CD4 + lymphocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]