title: Clinical and laboratory alterations in dogs naturally infected by Leishmania chagasi.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) is a zoonotic disease with different clinical manifestations. Parasitism often occurs in bone marrow, but changes have been observed in peripheral blood and serum biochemical parameters. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hematological and biochemical parameters in dogs naturally infected by Leishmania chagasi.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-five adult dogs of both sexes and various weights and ages from the Zoonosis Control Center of Fortaleza (CCZ) were used, selected by immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and considered positive with IFA titers greater than 1:40 and by visualizing amastigotes of Leishmania chagasi in smears obtained by bone marrow aspiration. The dogs (n = 85) were grouped according to clinical signs: negative (CN = 7), subclinical (CS = 10), and clinical (CC = 68). Blood samples were collected for determination of hematological and biochemical serum values. The experimental protocol was approved by the CEUA/UECE.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most frequent clinical signs were cachexia (77.9%), keratitis (61.8%), and lymphadenopathy (55.9%), and 86.8% of the animals showed more than one clinical sign characteristic of CVL. In CC were observed reductions in red blood cells (63%), hematocrit (72%), and hemoglobin (62%), as well as leukocytosis (33%), neutropenia (28%), thrombocytopenia (50%), uremia (45%), hyperproteinemia (53%, p<0.05), hypergammaglobulinemia (62%, p<0.01), and hypoalbuminemia (58%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Animals with the clinical form of the disease demonstrate hematological and biochemical changes consistent with anemia, uremia, hyperproteinemia, and hyperglobulinemia, which present themselves as strong clinical markers of visceral leishmaniasis associated with the signs previously reported.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Veterinárias, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE. claudiofavet@bol.com.br
authors.forename: José Cláudio Carneiro de
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Freitas
authors.forename: Diana Célia Sousa
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Nunes-Pinheiro
authors.forename: Belarmino Eugênio
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Lopes Neto
authors.forename: Glauco Jonas Lemos
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Cyntia Rafaelle Amaral de
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Abreu
authors.forename: Roberta Rocha
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Braga
authors.forename: Rafael de Morais
authors.initials: Rde M
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Ligene Fernandes de
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002100:Cachexia / Q000662:veterinary; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D004285:Dogs; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D007637:Keratoconjunctivitis / Q000662:veterinary; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male