Canine visceral leishmaniosis: Review

Abstract

Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease caused in Brazil by the protozoan Leishmania chagasi. Transmission occurs mainly by the bite of the phlebotomine Lutzomyia longipalpis (sand fly), which become infected by feeding from the blood of a sick dog and, then, it transmits the parasite to other animals and people. It is an important public health issue, affecting around 3,500 people per year, in all Brazilian states, with a mortality rate around 8%. The protozoan preferentially attacks the immune system of the affected dogs, causing unspecific clinical signs in several physiological systems. In up to 80% of cases, infected animals may not undergo seroconversion and remain asymptomatic, making diagnosis and control of the disease difficult. The public policy determined by the Ministry of Health in the Visceral Leishmaniasis Surveillance and Control Manual determines the euthanasia of seropositive dogs, since they remain as reservoirs of the protozoan. However, since 2016, there is the permission for treating individually sick animals with a leishmanicidal drug that was registered and released in Brazil. This study reviews the literature on Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis, with approaches on etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnostic methods, therapies and strategies for this disease control. It also brings discussions about current Brazilian public policy and proposals to improve the diagnosis and prevention of this zoonosis that is endemic in various regions of the country.