| Grant number: | 14/02882-3 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation |
| Effective date (Start): | May 01, 2014 |
| Effective date (End): | April 30, 2016 |
| Field of knowledge: | Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine |
| Principal Investigator: | Trícia Maria Ferreira de Sousa Oliveira |
| Grantee: | João Augusto Franco Leonel |
| Home Institution: | Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil |
Abstract Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease, zoonosis, caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania spp. that infect many mammals, including man. It is considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the priorities among tropical diseases. The role of dogs in the epidemiology of the disease is studied for a long time, been considered an important reservoir of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in urban areas. The domestic cat is currently considered a reservoir host, for possessing the ability of infection, however its role in the epidemiology of the disease is still inconclusive. As clinical signs are not very specific for VL in these species, the laboratorial diagnosis is extremely necessary. However has limitations, either on the technical or animal species. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is currently used in many laboratories and mainly when performed well, accurately identify asymptomatic animals and expressionless immune reaction. The use of PCR in conjunctival swabs proved to be an effective technique in the diagnosis of Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis (CVL), with high specificity and good sensitivity, and facilitate the collection of samples either in dogs or cats. The purpose of this study is to evaluate, by PCR, 50 dogs and 50 cats in the municipality of Pirassununga-SP in order to detect animals positive for Leishmania spp., using blood samples and conjunctival swabs. Both techniques will be evaluated through nonparametric statistics, as their agreement.Keywords: Leishmania spp., PCR, conjunctival swabs, dogs, cats. | |