Abstract

ROMERO PENUELA, Marlyn; SANCHEZ VALENCIA, Jorge  and  HAYEK PENUELA, Linda Carolina. CANINE VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS DIAGNOSIS BY MEANS OF WESTERN BLOT AND INDIRECT IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE TEST. Hacia promoc. Salud [online]. 2010, vol.15, n.1, pp.55-62. ISSN 0121-7577.

Objective: a cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out in order to establish the prevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis in the endemic area of Tolima department by means of Indirect Immunofluorescence (IFAT) and Western Blotting (WB) tests. Materials and Methods: the study included 211 mongrel dogs from six municipalities of the endemic area of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) of the Tolima department. The Colombian Leishmania infantum MHOM/CO/CL044B strain was used as antigen for IFI and WB. Results: The seroprevalence in the group tested was 41.7% and 22.2% by IFAT and WB, respectively. The agreement between the two techniques was negative (k = -0.102; p = 0.084). 12 antigenic fractions were detected between 13 and 91 kDa, of which 14 kDa is considered valuable in early diagnosis of the infection, in order to evaluate the resolution of the disease and treatment progress. The article suggests developing a construct of direct and indirect diagnostic tests for confirming the real state of the animals’ infection to guide disease control programs in endemic areas of visceral leishmaniasis.

Keywords : Visceral leishmaniasis (VL); western blot; natural infection; control.

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