WITHDRAWN: Epidemiological characterization of Leishmaniasis in the rural area of the western border region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

Background: Leishmaniasis, zoonotic diseases, are in the top ten list of tropical neglected disease globally. The number of contaminated dogs in South America is estimated in millions of animals and correlated to the human’s cases, especially in Brazil. Equines became infected too and can play a role in the epidemiological chain. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate risk factors to leishmaniasis in rural areas of the western border region of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil by Leishmania sp. protozoa molecular detection and serological evaluation (ELISA) in equine and canine blood samples. Methods: This work included nine farms around the city of Uruguaiana. It was collected epidemiologic information regarding farm characteristics and biologic material collection of canine and equine, totalizing 113 samples. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to detect Leishmania spp. in biological samples. Variables related to the farm were collected and evaluated through descriptive analysis followed by chi-square test and a logistic regression analysis.Results: Nineteen positive samples (19/113 – 16,81%) were detected, being 18 equines and 1 canine, in six of the nine farms included in the study. No animal showed clinical signs of the disease. According to the variables analyzed, when compared each characteristic separately, the presence of abundant vegetation and poor hygiene demonstrated to be risk factors to Leishmania infection in rural areas. The logistic regression showed that excellent general hygiene, proximity to the weir and trimmed grass were protective factors (p=0.038, p=0.001 and p=0.014, respectively). Having excellent hygiene represents a 70% lower chance of getting contaminated, keeping the grass cut protects the animal by more than 90% and the proximity of the weir represents a protective factor of 96%.Conclusions: The presence of leishmaniasis in the western border region of Rio Grande do Sul was 16,81% and it was influence by farm characteristics. The role of the excellent general hygiene as a protective factor is extremally relevant in the leishmaniosis prevention.