Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Dec 1996)

Reliability of serological methods for detection of leishmaniasis in portuguese domestic and wild reservoirs

  • SJ Semião-Santos,
  • P Abranches,
  • MCD Silva-Pereira,
  • GM Santos-Gomes,
  • JP Fernandes,
  • JCM Vetter

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761996000600018
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 91, no. 6
pp. 747 – 750

Abstract

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A direct agglutination test (DAT) and an immunofluorescence technique (IFAT) were compared for detection of Leishmania infantum infection in 43 dogs and five foxes from Alto-Douro and Arrábida, two known endemic areas in Portugal. In four dogs with proved canine leishmaniasis, both DAT and IFAT showed positive readings (titres >1:320 and >1:128). Of 34 samples collected from apparently healthy dogs, ten were positive by both serological tests and eight were serologically positive by one test or the other. Three foxes out of five captured in this area, scored titres indicative of leishmaniasis in both DAT and IFAT. The concordance between DAT and IFAT in all collected samples (48) was 81.25%. Considering these and previous studies in the adjacent Mediterranean areas, the seroprevalence of L. infantum infection in the canine and vulpine populations appear to be of high magnitude.

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