Article
Cohort study on canine emigration and Leishmania infection in an endemic area for American visceral leishmaniasis. Implications for the disease control.
Registro en:
SILVA, M. P. et al. Cohort study on canine emigration and Leishmania infection in an endemic area for American visceral leishmaniasis. Implications for the disease control. Acta Tropica, v. 69, n. 1, p. 75–83, 1998.
0001-706X
PII S0001-706X(97)00116-2
Autor
Silva, Moacir Paranhos
Nascimento, Eliane Góes
Melro, M. C. B. F
Oliveira, Geraldo Gileno de Sá
dosSantos, Washington Luis Conrado
Pontes-de-Carvalho, Lain Carlos
Santos, A. J. Oliveira dos
Resumen
American visceral leishmaniasis is a main public health matter in Brazil. Since dogs have
been incriminated as the main urban reservoir of AVL agent Leishmania chagasi, a cohort
study aimed at understanding the dynamics of the canine infection was carried out in
Jequie´—an endemic community in the Northeast of Brazil. The inhabited urban and
periurban areas of Jequie´ were divided into 140 clusters of 0.25 km2. All 1681 dogs domiciled
in 34 randomly selected clusters were screened for Leishmania antibodies in an enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay. After the seropositive dogs were painlessly eliminated, a cohort of
1286 seronegative dogs was followed up for 18 months, yielding a total of 1739.7 dog-years.
The overall incidence of Leishmania infection, as assessed by the detection of Leishmania
antibodies in blood samples collected every six months, was 6.55 cases:100 dog-years (95%
confidence interval; CI 6.04–7.26). Two subsets of clusters, with 0.70 and 1.35 relative risks
of infection, were identified. The annual emigration rate was 2.26 cases:100 dog-years (95%
CI 1.86–2.66). The implications of these findings for the control of American visceral
leishmaniasis are discussed.