Short report: detection of Leishmania DNA by polymerase chain reaction on blood samples from dogs with visceral leishmaniasis

• Published in: The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene Vol. 65; no. 6; pp. 896 - 898
• Main Authors: Silva, ES, Gontijo, CM, Pirmez, C, Fernandes, O, Brazil, RP
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lawrence, KS ASTMH 01.12.2001; Allen Press
• Subjects: Animal protozoal diseases; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Southern - veterinary; Bone Marrow - parasitology; Brazil - epidemiology; DNA Primers; DNA, Protozoan - blood; DNA, Protozoan - genetics; Dog Diseases - diagnosis; Dog Diseases - epidemiology; Dogs; Infectious diseases; Leishmania - isolation & purification; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - diagnosis; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - veterinary; Medical sciences; Parasitic diseases; Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary; Predictive Value of Tests; Protozoal diseases; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tropical medicine; South America; Brazil; America; Kinetoplastida; Parasitological investigation; Fissipedia; Protozoa; Carnivora; Protozoal disease; Kala azar; Leishmaniasis; Parasitosis; Blood; Infection; Polymerase chain reaction; Vertebrata; Mammalia; DNA; Leishmania; Domestic animal; Molecular biology; Detection; Dog
• ISSN: 0002-9637; 1476-1645
• DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2001.65.896

Immunological, parasitological, and molecular techniques were applied to blood samples of dogs to diagnose Leishmania infections. In 1997, 644 domestic dogs were studied. Peripheral blood samples were collected for serological diagnosis and detection of Leishmania parasite by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The indirect immunofluorescence test was positive in 139 (21.6%) of 644 dogs examined. The PCR was performed in 70 blood samples and 3 bone marrow aspirates. A 120-bp fragment specific for Leishmania was present in PCR hybridization analysis of all seropositive samples in the molecular assays. The PCR hybridization test, which used a minicircle of Leishmania chagasi as a probe, was negative in 20 seronegative dogs. These results suggest that a combined PCR-Southern hybridization technique is a highly sensitive approach to diagnose leishmaniasis in dogs, which are a zoonotic reservoir of leishmaniasis for humans.