Assuntos
Doenças do Cão/epidemiologia , Leishmaniose Visceral/veterinária , Animais , Surtos de Doenças/veterinária , Reservatórios de Doenças/veterinária , Transmissão de Doença Infecciosa/veterinária , Doenças do Cão/diagnóstico , Doenças do Cão/transmissão , Cães , Técnica Indireta de Fluorescência para Anticorpo/veterinária , Humanos , Leishmaniose Visceral/diagnóstico , Leishmaniose Visceral/epidemiologia , Leishmaniose Visceral/transmissão , América do Norte/epidemiologia , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase/veterináriaRESUMO
Visceral leishmaniasis, caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania donovani complex, is a vectorborne zoonotic infection that infects humans, dogs, and other mammals. In 2000, this infection was implicated as causing high rates of illness and death among foxhounds in a kennel in New York. A serosurvey of >12,000 foxhounds and other canids and 185 persons in 35 states and 4 Canadian provinces was performed to determine geographic extent, prevalence, host range, and modes of transmission within foxhounds, other dogs, and wild canids and to assess possible infections in humans. Foxhounds infected with Leishmania spp. were found in 18 states and 2 Canadian provinces. No evidence of infection was found in humans. The infection in North America appears to be widespread in foxhounds and limited to dog-to-dog mechanisms of transmission; however, if the organism becomes adapted for vector transmission by indigenous phlebotomines, the probability of human exposure will be greatly increased.