Eloiza Teles Caldart

Genotyping of canine distemper virus strains circulating in Brazil from 2008 to 2012

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a major pathogen of dogs and represents a serious threat to both unvaccinated and vaccinated animals. This study surveyed dogs with or without clinical signs related to canine distemper from different regions of Brazil from 2008 to 2012. A total of 155 out of 386 animals were found to be CDV positive by RT-PCR; 37 (23.8%) dogs were asymptomatic at the time of sampling, and 90 (58%) displayed clinical signs suggestive of distemper. Nineteen (12.2%) dogs had a record of complete vaccination, 15 (9.6%) had an incomplete vaccination protocol, and 76 (49%) had no vaccination record. Based on the sequence analysis of the complete hemagglutinin gene of 13 samples, 12 of the strains were characterized as Genotype South America-I/Europe. Considering criteria of at least 95% nucleotide identity to define a genotype and 98% to define a subgenotype, South America-I/Europe sequences segregated into eight different phylogenetically well-defined clusters that circulated or co-circulated in distinct geographical areas. Together, these findings highlight the relevance of CDV infection in Brazilian dogs, demonstrate the predominance of one genotype in Brazil and support the need to intensify the current control measures.

Spatial and simultaneous seroepidemiology of anti-Leishmania spp. antibodies in dog owners and their dogs from randomly selected households in a major city of southern Brazil

Although leishmaniasis has been described as a classic example of a zoonosis requiring a comprehensive approach for control, to date, no study has been conducted on the spatial distribution of simultaneous Leishmania spp. seroprevalence in dog owners and dogs from randomly selected households in urban settings. Accordingly, the present study aimed to simultaneously identify the seroprevalence, spatial distribution and associated factors of infection with Leishmania spp. in dog owners and their dogs in the city of Londrina, a county seat in southern Brazil with a population of half a million people and ranked 18th in population and 145th in the human development index (HDI) out of 5570 Brazilian cities. Overall, 564 households were surveyed and included 597 homeowners and their 729 dogs. Anti-Leishmania spp. antibodies were detected by ELISA in 9/597 (1.50%) dog owners and in 32/729 (4.38%) dogs, with significantly higher prevalence (p = 0.0042) in dogs. Spatial analysis revealed associations between seropositive dogs and households located up to 500 m from the local railway. No clusters were found for either owner or dog case distributions. In summary, the seroepidemiological and spatial results collectively show a lack of association of the factors for infection, and the results demonstrated higher exposure for dogs than their owners. However, railway areas may provide favorable conditions for the maintenance of infected phlebotomines, thereby causing infection in nearby domiciled dogs. In such an urban scenario, local sanitary barriers should be focused on the terrestrial routes of people and surrounding areas, particularly railways, via continuous vector surveillance and identification of phlebotomines infected by Leishmania spp.