Ocorrência de Leishmania spp. em felinos do município de AraÇatuba, SP

Abstract

This study had the purpose to compare the occurrence of Leishmania spp. in felines through two methods (cytological and serological), as well as to associate the occurrence of this protozoan with the sex, age and breed variables. Serum samples from 283 domestic felines were processed by means of Indirect Immunofluorescence Reaction (IIR), and the direct parasitological test for linfonodes was also carried out in order to verify positivity for Leishmania spp. Occurrence of 0.7% (2/283) was observed in the tested felines by means of linfonode imprinting and no animal showed title of antibodies for Leishmania spp. The two positive females were mongrel, a young female and an adult female feline. From the obtained results, no statistically significant difference was observed as regards the sex, breed and age variables in this research (p > 0.05). Occurrence of Leishmania spp. in the cats of this study was low. Such low incidence suggests that these hosts has no epidemiological relevance in the study area.

Antibodies to Leishmania spp. in domestic felines

“…Costa et al (2010) observed 11.5% positivity using ELISA. However, the prevalence found in this study was higher than those reported by Bresciani et al (2010) and Silveira (2010), which both used ELISA and obtained 3.5% positivity. Figueiredo et al (2009) also found lower values in a study focusing on Rio de Janeiro; they reported 2.4% positivity using ELISA.…”

Serological detection of Toxoplasma gondii, Leishmania infantum and Neospora caninum in cats from an area endemic for leishmaniasis in Brazil

“…This study revealed the occurrence of L. infantum antibodies in 6.6% of the sampled cats, which is higher than that found in previous studies conducted in another areas endemic for leishmaniasis in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, where seroprevalence ranging from 0.5 to 4.64% has been reported, using the same serological technique (IFAT) and cut-off (≥ 40) (SOBRINHO et al, 2012;CARDIA et al, 2013;BRESCIANI et al, 2010). On the other hand, Vides et al (2011) reported a higher seroprevalence by IFAT (10.9%) among cats sampled in the city of Araçatuba, state of São Paulo, which was higher than that found in this study, probably because all the cats sampled in the former study showed dermatologic lesions, one of the most suggestive clinical signs of feline leishmaniasis (SOLANO-GALLEGO et al, 2007).…”

“…Lower seropositivity to Leishmania spp. among cats compared to dogs in areas endemic for leishmaniasis have been reported in previous studies (SOLANO-GALLEGO et al, 2007;BRESCIANI et al, 2010;SOBRINHO et al, 2012;CARDIA et al, 2013). According to Solano-Gallego et al (2007), the immune response in cats, mainly cellular immunity, is effective enough to control the infection and confer some natural resistance (GARCIA et al, 1999)., Differences in specificity and sensitivity among different techniques used in earlier studies are likely the cause of disparate seroprevalence rates.…”

Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, and Leishmania spp. infections and risk factors for cats from Brazil

“…Although IFAT has been used in epidemiological studies (Ayllon et al 2008;Poli et al 2002;Vita et al 2005), the positive animals of the present study were not seroreactive by IFAT but by ELISA, results similar to that obtained by Figueiredo et al (2009), who evaluated antibodies anti-Leishmania in 43 cats from Barra Mansa Municipality, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil by the methods IFAT and ELISA and detected only one reactive animal, 2.4% (1/43), by the latter technique only. Bresciani et al (2010) found 0.7% (2/283) of cats positive for Leishmania spp. by the IFAT technique in the municipality of Araçatuba, São Paulo State, Brazil.…”