An autochthonous case of visceral leishmaniasis is reported in a dog (Canis familiaris) as an apparently natural infection in a non-endemic area. DNA obtained from spleen and liver samples produced the expected fragment in a Leishmania-specific rDNA-based nested-PCR assay. The PCR product, a 490 bp fragment, was sequenced and the nucleotide sequence was identical to that of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi. These results are surprising since no autochthonous human or canine cases of visceral leishmaniasis have ever been reported in this municipality. This case suggests that natural transmission of this disease is occurring in this area.
Visceral leishmaniasis; PCR; Epidemiology; Dogs; São Paulo; Brazil
