An investigation was carried out to determine the occurrence of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis in the urban canine population of the District of Cuiabá, State of Mato Grosso. In the period from August of 1997 to July of 1998 blood samples of 800 dogs were collected, from different neighborhoods of Cuiabá, chosen at random and sent to the Service of Parasitology of the Municipal Institute of Veterinary Medicine Jorge Vaitsman, in Rio de Janeiro, for examination by the indirect immunofluorescent test. At the beginning 62 serum samples were processed, from which 64.5% (40 samples) were positive for leishmaniasis. In relation to the titters found in the reacting serum, 92.5% (37 samples) presented titters above 1:160, what suggests strong suspicion of the presence of visceral leishmaniasis. From this total, 72.5% (29 samples) of the positive serum came from dogs of the South-East region and 27.5% (11 samples) of the Center-East region of Cuiabá. This is the first report of the detection of serum positive dogs for leishmaniasis in urban area of the State of Mato Grosso.
Leishmaniasis; Dogs; Zoonoses; Immunodiagnosis