Vet World Vol.14 October-2021 Article-22
Research Article
Veterinary World, 14(10): 2735-2738
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2021.2735-2738
Serosurvey of anti-Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum antibodies in hunting dogs and hunters in Brazil
2. Department of Medicine, State University of Ponta Grossa, Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil.
3. Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
4. Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Paraná State, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
5. Department of General Biology, State University of Ponta Grossa, Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil.
6. Department of Comparative Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, Harrison Street, 725, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907-2027, USA.
Background and Aim: Although wild boar hunting activities and the hunting dog trade in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes of Brazil overlap both with endemic and with non-endemic areas for visceral leishmaniasis, no study to date has focused on Leishmania spp. exposure among hunting dogs and hunters. The aim of the present study was to assess the presence of Leishmania spp. antibodies in hunting dogs and hunters in different anthropized areas of two Brazilian biomes.
Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 170 hunting dogs and 46 hunters between October 2016 and May 2018. The presence of antibodies against Leishmania spp. in hunting dogs was screened through a dual-path platform immunochromatographic test (DPP rapid test; Bio-Manguinhos/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and in hunters through an rK39-based rapid immunochromatographic test. Both tests were used in accordance with Brazilian Ministry of Health recommendations.
Results: Overall, although antibodies were detected through the immunochromatographic test in 3/170 (0.02%) of these female asymptomatic hunting dogs, all living in anthropized areas of the Atlantic Forest biome in South Brazil, no sample was confirmed through the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All the hunters were non-reactive in the rapid immunochromatographic test.
Conclusion: Our study on three suspicious hunting dogs has suggested that Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum may circulate both in endemic and non-endemic areas in Brazil. In addition, a high rate of hunting dog replacement due to death and trade may have led to less chance of infection and transmission between animals and between animals and humans, which would corroborate the outcomes reported here. Further studies should be conducted to fully establish whether hunting dogs and hunters may be used as sentinels in other areas endemic for Leishmania spp. Keywords: Brazilian biomes, canine visceral leishmaniasis, hunting activities, Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum, rural dogs.
Keywords: Brazilian biomes, canine visceral leishmaniasis, hunting activities, Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum, rural dogs.
How to cite this article: Kmetiuk LB, de Campos MP, Bach RVW, Brandão APD, de Barros-Filho IR, Lipinski LC, Fávero GM, dos Santos AP, Fiqueiredo FB, Biondo AW (2021) Serosurvey of anti-Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum antibodies in hunting dogs and hunters in Brazil, Veterinary World, 14(10): 2735-2738.
Received: 06-06-2021 Accepted: 07-09-2021 Published online: 24-10-2021
Corresponding author: Alexander Welker Biondo E-mail: abiondo@ufpr.br
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2021.2735-2738
Copyright: Kmetiuk, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.