title: Canine visceral leishmaniasis: diagnostic approaches based on polymerase chain reaction employing different biological samples.
abstract: The accurate diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CanL) is essential for visceral leishmaniasis control. To this end, DNA detection on different biological samples has been employed. In this study, we report the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay on samples such as buffy coat, bone marrow, intact skin and cutaneous ulcers fragments, and lymph node aspirate collected from 430 dogs to determine the suitable biological sample for use in CanL diagnosis. The PCR results were correlated with clinical status and other tests previously performed. Leishmania chagasi DNA was detected in 14.6% (n = 63) of the dogs investigated, regardless of the sample analyzed. Our results showed that symptomatic cases were easily diagnosed when compared to asymptomatic animals; however, the PCR proved to be very useful for Leishmania DNA detection, mainly in lymph node aspirate (41; 9.6%), irrespective of the clinical status of the dog. The finding that the lymph node aspirate produced high positivity rates and the fact that this specimen was obtained by noninvasive methods highlight its use in epidemiological survey by PCR for CanL diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Programa de pós-graduação em Pesquisa Clínica em Doenças Infecciosas, Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Av. Brasil 4365, 21040-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Arleana B P F
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Valéria R F
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Naiani D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Gasparetto
authors.forename: Givago F R
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Fabiano B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Figueiredo
authors.forename: Valéria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dutra
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nakazato
authors.forename: Maria F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Madeira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058345:Asymptomatic Infections; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000235:genetics*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012883:Skin Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*