Diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis: major technological advances and few practical applications

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Visceral leishmaniasis is the most severe type of leishmaniasis, and its zoonotic form, caused by Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi, accounts for 20% of the reported cases of human leishmaniasis in the world. Its incidence rates are increasing in urban and peri-urban tropical areas. One of the monitoring policies adopted in Brazil is the identification and elimination of infected dogs, which are considered the main reservoir hosts of the disease in cities. Consequently, reliable analyses and diagnoses of these animals are very important for the control of the disease. However, there is not a fast and safe diagnostic method with optimal sensitivity and specificity rates for canine visceral leishmaniasis. This study discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the most common methods available for the evaluation of dogs and the expectations raised by new methods and new antigens for the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis. Finally, we reviewed the difficulties in the practical applications of these new methodologies.