Identificação de Leishmania sp. em amostras de gatos domésticos (Felis catus) da região metropolitana de Belo Horizonte

Abstract

Natural cases of feline visceral leishmaniasis (LVF) have been known since the beginning of the 20th century. In Brazil, the first case was described in 1940 by Mello. Clinical disease in cats is rare and when it presents clinical signs include: skin lesions, mucocutaneous lesions, lymphadenomegaly, lethargy, anorexia, cachexy, weakness, fever, diarrhea, emesis, polyuria, polydipsia, dyspnea, jaundice and hepatosplenomegaly. For the diagnosis of LVF, serological, molecular and parasitological tests can be performed. The aim of the present study was to identify the presence of Leishmania sp. on biological mucosal surfaces of domestic cats from the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte. 155 blood samples (1 per animal) and 620 swabs (4 per animal) were collected from different biological accesses (ocular, oral, colon and genital). To identify the protozoan, ELISA-rKDDR techniques, rapid tests (DPP/Bio-Manguinhos and KDDR-plus) and PCR were performed. The results found demonstrated the presence of Leishmania sp. in all samples for at least one of the techniques used. For the ELISA-rKDDR technique, 37.41% of the samples were positive. For the immunochromatographic tests, 4.5% and 2.6% of seropositivity were observed for DPP/Bio-Manguinhos and KDDR-plus, respectively. As for the PCR, 66% of positivity was observed, regardless of the evaluated mucosal surface. Analyzes by ELISA compared with the gold standard test (PCR) showed a significant association between them (p<0.0001). However, the rapid tests did not show this same association (p=1.000 and p=0.246, respectively). In this way, the study expanded the knowledge about the LVF, indicating that the collection of swabs can be adopted in the daily routine of veterinary clinics, especially those of the oral conjunctiva, as they are less invasive. In addition, the infection in cats associated with the lack of clinical signs indicates that these animals are asymptomatic carriers of this protozoan.