Visceral Leishmaniasis in the city of Valença Piauí, a health public problem,

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania chagasi in Brazil. It is a disease that is decimating the canine population in rural and urban areas and has great health public importance because it is a zoonosis that has major problems and consequences for man. The emergence of human cases of visceral leishmanias is in the city of Valencia Piauí led to this investigation of the incidence of the disease in dogs. We conducted clinical and serological by Immuno Fluorescence Assay (IFA) of 190 dogs. The total reactive serum of animals, 102 were in the New Horizon neighborhood and 65 in Valencinha. 50 animals were selected with the greatest number of clinical signs, with varying antibody titer1:40 to1: 320 and the negative animals. Confirmation of the presence of Leishmania in selected animals was through the puncture and bone marrow aspirate of popliteal lymph node. The collected material was seeded in NNN culture medium enriched with Schneider's. After seeding, it is proceeded three readings every five days, and observed the presence of Leishmania promastigotes in 16 samples. The findings confirmed the Leishmania infection in animals of the neighborhoods under study, which characterizes it, in this region, given the presence of foxes in the woods and peridomestics and fly vectors, closes the cycle of this wild and urban zoonosis. Hence the need to raise awareness about the risks of epidemics and alert the authorities about the emergency measures: such as periodic fumigation residences, animal sacrifice demonstrably infected, treatment of sick people and repetition of epidemiological surveys.