A Leishmania donovani-complex specific DNA probe was used to confirm the widespread dissemination of amastigotes in apparently normal skin of dogs with canine visceral leishmaniasis. When Lutzomyia longipalpis were fed on abnormal skin of five naturally infected dogs 57 of 163 (35%) flies became infected: four of 65 flies (6%) became infected when fed on apparently normal skin. The bite of a single sandfly that had fed seven days previously on a naturally infected dog transmitted the infection to a young dog from a non-endemic area. Within 22 days a lesion had developed at the site of the infective bite (inner ear): 98 days after infection organisms had not disseminated throughout the skin, bone marrow, spleen or liver and the animal was still serologically negative by indirect immunofluorescence and dot-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. When fed Lu. longipalpis were captured from a kennel with a sick dog known to be infected, 33 out of 49 (67%) of flies contained promastigotes. In contrast only two infections were detected among more than 200 sandflies captured in houses. These observations confirm the ease of transmissibility of L. chagasi from dog to sandfly to dog in Teresina. It is likely that canine VL is the major source of human VL by the transmission route dog-sandfly-human. The Lmet2 DNA probe was a useful epidemiological tool for detecting L. chagasi in sandflies.

Three groups of three, six, and 12 dogs with parasitologically proven clinical visceral leishmaniasis (Leishmania chagasi infection) were treated with intramuscular aminosidine sulfate at doses of 20 mg/kg/day for 15 days; 80 mg/kg/day for 20 days, and 40 mg/kg/day for 30 days, respectively. Follow-up was by parasitologic examination of bone marrow and skin, serology using the indirect immunofluorescent antibody test, and clinical examination for signs of visceral leishmaniasis or adverse effects of treatment. In animals treated with 20 mg/kg/day, for 15 days, there was dramatic clinical improvement with disappearance of conjunctivitis, increase in appetite, weight gain, and recovery of normal skin condition and a healthy coat, but parasitologic relapse occurred between 50 and 100 days after initiation of treatment. Adverse effects were seen with treatment with 80 mg/kg/day for 20 days; three dogs died during or just after treatment, two showed temporary recovery, and one showed total clinical and parasitologic cure that was maintained for four years. Although adverse effects and relapses were seen in some dogs treated with 40 mg/kg/day for 30 days, three of 12 dogs showed complete parasitologic and clinical cure that was sustained for at least four years. Aminosidine treatment cannot be recommended as an alternative to the humane destruction of dogs for the control of canine visceral leishmaniasis because ineffective treatment may prolong carrier status or encourage development of drug resistance. This drug may be a therapeutic option if there is no danger of a dog acting as a reservoir of infection. Achievement of clinical recovery and limited cure with aminosidine suggests that further trials would be of value, possibly in combination with other anti-leishmanial drugs and with supportive measures to reduce adverse effects.

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This study was perfomed to assess the in vitro effect of oil from the seed of andiroba (Carapa guianensis Aubl.) on Felicola subrostratus (Burmeister, 1838) (Mallophaga: Trichodectidae). Six hundred specimens of F. subrostratus from neighborhood of Jordão, Recife-PE, Brazil, were collected by hand directly from the fur of cats infested naturally. The lice were transported in plastic recipients to the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases of Domesticated Animals of the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (Brazil) for the immersion test. Four dilutions of andiroba oil (100, 50, 25 and 10%) in distilled water were tested, using Tween 80 as dispersant; two control groups (one with distilled water and the other with monosulfiram) were also formed; four replicates were performed, with 25 specimens for each dilution, totaling 100 lice per treatment. After the test, the insects were kept at room temperature and observed for mortality rates for 72 h. The biological activity of the product achieved 100% mortality of the insects in the first hour at concentrations of 100 and 50% and in the third hour at concentrations of 25 and 10%. The results demonstrate the possibility of controlling F. subrostratus throught the use of oil extracted from andiroba seeds.

A survey was carried out to detect American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) among dogs in an area where a human outbreak had occurred in the state of Pernambuco, in northeastern Brazil. Domiciled dogs living in the district of Três Ladeiras, Igarassu were used in the present study. The following procedures were performed: The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) (n = 126); the Immunofluorescence Antibody Test (IFAT) (n = 80); and a parasitological examination to detect amastigote forms of Leishmania sp. in skin lesions (n = 43). Associations between the infection in animals and the clinical and epidemiological factors were analyzed using Fisher's exact test or the Pearson's chi-squared test. In total, 46.8% (59/126) of the samples tested were PCRpositive. Although a higher frequency of positivity was detected among males (46.3 %) and animals aged between 3 and 4 years (50.0 %), no significant associations were recorded for these variables (p> 0.05). Similarly, the clinical signs and aspects related to the environment in which the animal lives did not differ significantly, but differences were recorded for the variable locality. In the IFAT, only 6.2% (5/80) of the dogs were positive and no amastigote forms of Leishmania sp. were detected.