Fatores associados à ocorrência da leishmaniose visceral canina no município de Araguaína, Tocantins

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis is an important zoonosis caused by protozoa of the species Leishmania infantum, presenting as main reservoir the domestic dog. Phlebotomines of the species Lutzomyia longipalpis, are the vectors most commonly found in Brazil that transmits L. infantum . For a long time the disease presented a rural character, however has been observed an increasing urbanization, becoming a relevant public health problem nowadays. Characteristics such as proximity to the main reservoir of the disease with humans and the increasing adaptation of sand flies to the urban environment, attribute to this zoonosis a complex epidemiological profile. Studies developed in areas with active transmission of the disease, aimed at identifying factors associated with the installation and maintenance of the transmission cycle may contribute as a relevant information to the actions of control of visceral leishmaniasis. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of infection by L. infantum in dogs from Araguaína city, northern region of Tocantins State, and to identify factors possibly associated with the occurrence of infection through the analysis of individual, environmental and clinical aspects of animals. For the study, 199 dogs of different ages, males and females, were randomly sampled from 14 districts of the city. Direct and serological parasitological tests were performed by means of the direct agglutination test (TAD) for the detection of dogs positive for illness. From the results analysis, a frequency of 41.2% (82/199) dogs was positive, considering the direct examination result and TAD 1: 160. Variables such as sex, age, animal race, peri- stay and street access were not associated with positivity for the disease (p> 0.05). Environmental factors such as presence of debris and banana in the peridomicile presented with risk factors for Leishmania infection (OR = 2,638 and 2,822, respectively), while the presence of ornamental plants at home was indicated as a protective factor for leishmaniasis visceral canine (OR = 0.482). The results indicate that the transmission cycle of visceral leishmaniasis remains active in the municipality of Araguaína, with a high frequency of canine cases, which may result in an increase in the number of human cases of the disease in the city.