High seroprevalence and associated factors for visceral leishmaniasis in dogs in a transmission area of Paraíba state, Northeastern Brazil

Bernardino, Maria das Graças da Silva; Angelo, Débora Ferreira do Santos; Silva, Raizza Barros Sousa; Silva, Edijanio Galdino da; Silva, Laysa Freire Franco e; Vaz, Antônio Fernando de Melo; Melo, Marcia Almeida de; Santos, Carolina de Sousa Américo Batista; Alves, Clebert José; Azevedo, Sérgio Santos de

doi:10.1590/S1984-29612020014

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Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária

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Original Article • Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet. 29 (2) • 2020 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-29612020014 copy

High seroprevalence and associated factors for visceral leishmaniasis in dogs in a transmission area of Paraíba state, Northeastern Brazil

Alta soroprevalência e fatores associados da leishmaniose visceral canina em área de transmissão do Estado da Paraíba, Nordeste do Brasil

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Dogs have been implicated as main reservoirs for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in urban areas. Therefore, studies on this species provide important data for public health. Thus, the objective of the present study was to ascertain the seroprevalence of canine VL (CVL) and the associated factors in the Brejo Paraibano microregion, northeastern Brazil. A total of 409 dogs were sampled from the eight municipalities of the microregion: Alagoa Grande, Alagoa Nova, Areia, Bananeiras, Borborema, Matinhas, Pilões and Serraria. The diagnosis of CVL was made using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA S7^®), through which the prevalence observed was 29.3%. By robust Poisson regression analysis two factors were associated with seroprevalence: illiterate/incomplete elementary owner’s education level (prevalence ratio = 1.57; 95% CI = 1.05–2.34; p-value = 0.027) and tick infestation (prevalence ratio = 1.82; 95% CI = 1.27–2.61; p-value = 0.001). It is concluded that the seroprevalence of CVL in the Brejo Paraibano microregion is high. The factors associated with seroprevalence indicated the importance to develop socioeducational actions on the population, and the finding that tick infestation was associated with seroprevalence shows that there is a need for investigation regarding the role of ticks in the epidemiology of CVL.

Keywords:
Leishmania infantum; zoonosis; public health; epidemiology

Municipality	Inhabitants ^* * Source: IBGE (2010).	Minimum number of dogs to be sampled	Sampled dogs	Positive dogs (%)
Alagoa Grande	28,479	94	101	43 (42.6)
Areia	23,829	78	79	27 (34.2)
Bananeiras	21,851	72	72	22 (30.1)
Alagoa Nova	19,681	65	73	7 (9.7)
Serraria	6,238	21	24	2 (8.3)
Pilões	6,978	23	22	3 (13.6)
Borborema	5,111	17	20	5 (25.0)
Matinhas	4,321	14	18	11 (61.1)
Total	116,488	384	409	120 (29.3)

Variable	Categories	Total No. of dogs	Positive dogs (%)	p-value
Sex	Female	193	57 (29.5)
Sex	Male	216	63 (29.2)	0.935
Breed	Without defined breed	338	100 (29.6)
Breed	With defined breed	71	20 (28.2)	0.812
Age	Up to 1 year	88	21 (23.9)
	1-5 years	197	60 (30.5)
	Over 5 years	124	39 (31.5)	0.436
Owner’ educational level	Illiterate/Incomplete elementary education	288	96 (33.3)
Owner’ educational level	Complete elementary education	121	24 (19.8)	0.006^* * Variables selected for robust Poisson regression.
Family income	Up to 1 minimum wage	268	85 (31.7)
	1-2 minimum wages	114	32 (28.1)
	More than 2 minimum wages	27	3 (11.1)	0,076*
Contact with cats	No	257	70 (27.2)
Contact with cats	Yes	152	50 (32.9)	0.225
Contact with small ruminants	No	381	112 (29.4)
Contact with small ruminants	Yes	28	8 (28.6)	0.926
Contact with cattle	No	398	119 (29.9)
Contact with cattle	Yes	11	1 (9.1)	0.135*
Contact with horses	No	393	119 (30.3)
Contact with horses	Yes	16	1 (6.2)	0.039*
Presence of mosquitos	No	78	18 (23.1)
Presence of mosquitos	Yes	331	102 (30.8)	0.177*
Disposal of garbage	Public collection	390	115 (29.5)
Disposal of garbage	Vacant lots or on the streets	19	5 (26.3)	0.767
Type of water for human consumption	Treated water	215	63 (29.3)
Type of water for human consumption	Untreated water	194	57 (29.4)	0.986
Does a veterinarian evaluate your animals regularly?	Yes	41	13 (31.7)
Does a veterinarian evaluate your animals regularly?	No	368	107 (29.1)	0.726
Condition of housing	At home without access to streets	65	10 (15.4)
	At home with access to streets	264	81 (30.7)
	Free access to streets	80	29 (36.2)	0.017*
Do you clean the animals’ environment daily?	Yes	298	78 (26.2)
Do you clean the animals’ environment daily?	No	111	42 (37.8)	0.021*
Dog food	Commercial	26	7 (26.9)
Dog food	Commercial + homemade	383	113 (29.5)	0.780
Type of water for dog consumption	Treated	199	49 (24.6)
Type of water for dog consumption	Untreated	210	71 (33.8)	0.041*
Do you wash your animals?	Yes	358	104 (29.1)
Do you wash your animals?	No	51	16 (31.4)	0.733
Tick infestation	No	226	49 (21.7)
Tick infestation	Yes	183	71 (38.8)	< 0.001*
Adequate ectoparasite control	Yes	46	15 (32.6)
Adequate ectoparasite control	No	363	105 (28.9)	0.605
Deworming	Yes	298	87 (29.2)
Deworming	No	111	33 (29.7)	0.916
Animal with access to vacant lots	No	175	39 (22.3)
Animal with access to vacant lots	Yes	234	81 (34.6)	0.007*
Contact with wildlife	No	138	29 (21.0)
Contact with wildlife	Yes	271	91 (33.6)	0.008*

Variable category	Coefficient estimates	Standard error	Wald Chi-square	Prevalence ratio	95% CI ^* * Confidence interval of 95% for prevalence ratio.	p-value
Illiterate/incomplete elementary owner’s education level	0.451	0.204	4.88	1.57	1.05; 2.34	0.027
Tick infestation	0.6	0.183	10.8	1.82	1.27; 2.61	0.001

Colégio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinária FCAV/UNESP - Departamento de Patologia Veterinária, Via de acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane s/n, Zona Rural, , 14884-900 Jaboticabal - SP, Brasil, Fone: (16) 3209-7100 RAMAL 7934 - Jaboticabal - SP - Brazil
E-mail: cbpv_rbpv.fcav@unesp.br

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[1] *Corresponding author: Sérgio Santos de Azevedo. E-mail: sergio@vps.fmvz.usp.br