Allopurinol therapy provides long term clinical improvement, but additional immunotherapy is required for sustained parasite clearance, in L. infantum-infected dogs.

There is little evidence that current control strategies for canine leishmaniosis (CanL), the veterinary disease caused by L. infantum infection, are having a positive impact. This is of critical importance because dogs are a primary reservoir for L. infantum and a significant source of parasite transmission to humans. Drugs intended primarily for human use are prohibited for the treatment of CanL because of concerns over the propagation of resistant parasites. Although allopurinol effectively decreases parasite burden in CanL the treatment needs to be maintained for life. We hypothesized that during the allopurinol-induced parasite reduction dogs may become capable of developing a more robust immune response that may permit more effective control of parasites. To test this, we investigated the clinical and parasitological impact of short-term treatment with allopurinol, either alone or in combination with a defined subunit vaccine, on dogs naturally infected with L. infantum. A total of 28 dogs were distributed as follows: untreated; oral allopurinol alone (20 mg/kg, once each day for 90 days); or allopurinol with immunization with the Leish-F2 antigen formulated with the Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 agonist Second generation Lipid Adjuvant (SLA) in stable emulsion (SE; SLA-SE). Dogs that did not receive treatment had a progressive decline in their clinical condition and an increase in their infection levels, while treatment with allopurinol alone alleviated the clinical symptoms of CanL but did not generate sustained reduction in parasites. Concomitant immunization with Leish-F2 + SLA-SE, however, improved clinical condition while also providing long-term clearance of L. infantum from lymphoid tissues and systemic organs. These results have important implications for both the management of CanL and for limiting L. infantum transmission to humans.

Seroprevalence and risk factors for leptospirosis in cattle, sheep, and goats at consorted rearing from the State of Piauí, northeastern Brazil.

Leptospirosis is an endemic disease in Latin America, caused by pathogenic bacteria of the genus Leptospira. It is considered one of the main causes responsible for the negative economic impact on global livestock by causing reproductive problems. The research aimed to determine the prevalence of leptospirosis in cattle, sheep, and goats at consorted rearing in the micro-region of Teresina, Piauí state, northeastern Brazil, as well as to identify prevalent serovars and risk factors associated with seroprevalence. Serum samples were analyzed in 336 sheep, 292 goats, and 253 cattle using microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Overall, 378 samples were positive to MAT, with seroprevalence of 42.9%. The prevalences in cattle, sheep, and goats were 50.5, 40.5, and 34.6%, respectively. All herds presented at least one seropositive animal; the Hardjo/Wolffi serovar association was the most common in cattle and Icterohaemorrhagiae in goats and sheep. Beef production (OR = 4.9), cattle herd over 35 animals (OR = 4.0), feeding on pasture (OR = 6.4), weir and/or stream as water source (OR = 2.1), and no veterinary services (OR = 2.9) were risk factors for cattle infection. For sheep, intensive management system (OR = 5.3), suspended slatted facilities (OR = 2.2), more than 20 sheep in reproductive age (OR = 1.9), and absence of deworming (OR = 3.5) were the risk factors, while for goats, the identified risk factors were sheep herd over 52 animals (OR = 1.9) and no veterinary services (OR = 1.8). We conclude that the infection was spreading in consorted herds in this region. Thus, it would be interesting and important to conduct educative activities to farmers on the economic impacts of this disease and the need of preventive and control strategies mainly focused on sanitary measures and animal handling.

Retrospective study of post-mortem diagnosis of dogs and cats necropsied in the Animal Pathology Sector of Piauí Federal University, Brazil from 2009 to 2014 / Estudo retrospectivo de diagnósticos post-mortem de cães e gatos necropsiados no Setor de Patologia Animal da Universidade Federal do Piauí, Brasil de 2009 a 2014

Knowledge of the main causes of death in dogs and cats provides grants for monitoring, planning and evaluation of measures to reduce the percentage of death of these animals. Therefore, the present paper was developed to analyze the diagnostic postmortem of dogs and cats in Animal Pathology Laboratory UFPI from August 2009 to August 2014, establishing the frequency of causes that led to the animal deaths. 361 dogs and 86 cats were necropsied in this period. Of the dogs, 56.7% were males and 43.3% females. Regarding age at death, in the group of dogs, 29.4% had less than 1 year; 27.7% between 1.1 to 5 years; 23.3% 5.1 to 10 years and 9.1% over 10.1 years. In the group of cats, 61.6% were male and 38.4% female, of which 29.1% were less than 1 year; 39.5% 1.1 to 5 years; 18.6% 5.1 to 10 years and 2.3% over 10.1 years. The main causes of death in dogs were infectious disorders (23.8%), degenerative diseases (14.4%), circulatory disorders (10.2%) and neoplasms 8.6%. In cats, infectious disorders (18.6%), urinary (15.1%), trauma (8.1%) and neoplasms (8.1%) were the leading causes of death. It is concluded that the main causes of death in both pet animal species, diagnosed in animal-UFPI Pathology sector, were infectious diseases. Local veterinary services should be made aware of these results, leading to measures for paying more attention to these diseases and the adoption of prophylactic measures to reduce the occurrence of such diseases in pets...

O conhecimento das principais causas de óbito em cães e gatos fornece subsídios para o monitoramento, planejamento e avaliação de medidas que visam reduzir o percentual de óbito desses animais em uma dada localidade. O presente trabalho compilou os diagnósticos post-mortem de cães e gatos necropsiados no Laboratório de Patologia Animal da Universidade Federal do Piauí (UFPI), Estado do Piauí, Brasil, no período de agosto de 2009 a agosto de 2014, estabelecendo a frequência das doenças que culminaram com o óbito dos animais. Nesse período foram necropsiados 361 cães e 86 gatos. Dos cães, 56,7% eram machos e 43,3% fêmeas. Em relação à idade no momento do óbito, 29,4% tinham menos de um ano; 27,7% entre 1,1 a 5 anos; 23,3% de 5,1 a 10 anos e 9,1% acima de 10,1 anos. Em relação aos felinos, 61,6% eram machos e 38,4% eram fêmeas, dos quais 29,1% tinham menos de um ano; 39,5% de 1,1 a 5 anos; 18,6% de 5,1 a 10 anos e 2,3% acima de 10,1 anos. Nos cães as principais causas de óbito foram distúrbios infecciosos (23,8%), doenças degenerativas (14,4%), distúrbios circulatórios (10,2%) e neoplasias 8,6%. Em gatos, os distúrbios infecciosos (18,6%), urinários (15,1%), traumáticos (8,1%) e neoplasias (8,1%) foram as principais causas de morte. Conclui-se que a principal causa de morte, tanto em cães quanto gatos, diagnosticada no setor de Patologia Animal UFPI foram as doenças infecciosas, estes resultados contribuem para que o clínico dedique maior atenção a essas enfermidades, visando adoção de medidas profiláticas que reduzirão a sua ocorrência nos animais de companhia da região estudada...