Aplicabilidade de uma fraÃÃo carboxiterminal da proteÃna HSP70 para o diagnÃstico da leishmaniose visceral canina

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2001

RESUMO

The Leishmaniasis are a serious health problem in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, because of the steady increase in incidence in the last years and of the challenge and urgency in implementing the SUS (Unified Health System â Brazil) guidelines for the descentralized control of endemies, as proposed at the National Health Conferences. GlÃria do Goità county, located at Zona da Mata, State of Pernambuco, 72 km north of Recife, has ca. 27.000 inhabitants and has suffered an increased incidence of visceral leishmansiasis in the last years, affecting all age groups. For the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis, a fundamental element in the present control program, a method should be easy to perform, cost effective, sensitive and specific, four characteristics that rarely come together. The indirect immunofluorescence technique (IFI) was chosen by the Ministry of Health as the standard diagnostic method for canine leishmaniasis since 1978 and has a high sensitivity, but poor specificity. In this work we compare this method with a new recombinant ELISA and an improved blood collection method for field work on canine leishmaniasis. A total 1151 dogs from GlÃria do Goità county were examined by IFI, using eluates from blood blots in paper filter with the following results: 92 samples were reagent, 28 inconclusive and 1031 negative. Only 41 serum reactive dogs could be retrieved for further study after 8 months, as 72 were already dead and 7 moved. With a overall mortality of 65%. The high prevalence among dogs is in accordance with the high incidence of human kala-azar in the county. Furthermore, it points to this disease as the cause of death among serum positive dogs. Blood was collected by venopuncture (2 ml) or by ear pricking (20 μL collected in 500 μL of a E. coli sonicate for immunoadsorption) and used in serial dilutions for IFI and recombinant ELISA (using the carboxi-terminal moiety of Leishmania chagasi HSP70). The dogs were subsequently killed and submitted to necropsy. Results obtained with both tests were in almost complete agreement, but ELISA was more sensitive and, specially, more specific than IFI. In conclusion, the use of a recombinant ELISA and of an improved system for blood collection can be an important contribution for kala-azar control campaigns in Brazil

ASSUNTO(S)

elisa leishmaniose canina imunofluorescÃncia teste sorolÃgico bioquimica

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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