Canine visceral leishmaniasis epidemiological survey in three sanitary districts of Salvador, Bahia state, Brazil Inquérito epidemiológico da leishmaniose visceral canina em três distritos sanitários do Município de Salvador, Bahia, Brasil

The goal of the present work was to investigate the occurence of canine Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) in Itapuã, Cajazeiras and Pau da Lima sanitary districts (SD), all belonging to the city of Salvador. In order to achieve it, a canine epidemiological and entomological surveys were applied as an epidemiological questionnaire to the owners of the animals sampled and to the veterinary physicians of the city. The study detected six VL seropositive dogs among the eight hundred and eleven ones randomly sampled. It was not possible to determine the autoctonous condition for L. chagasi infection. One animal was positive by culture of splenic material and in the entomologic survey of the vector, Lutzomyia longipalpis, none was captured. Veterinary clinicians from 41.7% of the clinics evaluated reported the diagnostic of, at least, one VL case in Salvador domiciliated dogs. The SD of Itapuã, Cajazeiras and Pau da Lima presented VL transmission risk once there is Leishmania parasite occurrence in the municipality, verified in this study by splenic culturing of an animal aspirative puncture, previous record of vector (L. longipalpis) presence in the Itapuã district by the Bahia State Health Agency (SESAB) and canine VL diagnostics by veterinary doctors from clinics all around the city of Salvador. This work is the first epidemiological analysis of this zoonosis in these SD and they point out the need to perform sampled entomological and serological surveys in all areas of the city. The development of a VL surveillance system may contribute for monitoring the disease in Salvador.Objetivou-se com este estudo investigar a ocorrência da Leishmaniose Visceral (LV) canina nos Distritos Sanitários (DS) de Itapuã, Cajazeiras e Pau da Lima, pertencentes ao município de Salvador, por meio da realização de inquérito sorológico canino; inquérito entomológico, aplicação de questionário epidemiológico aos proprietários dos animais amostrados e a médicos veterinários do município. O estudo identificou seis cães soropositivos para os 811 aleatoriamente amostrados. Em nenhum dos casos foi possível determinar a condição autóctone da infecção pela Leishmania chagasi. Um animal foi positivo para Leishmania em cultura de aspirado esplênico. No inquérito entomológico, nenhum exemplar de Lutzomyia longipalpis foi capturado. Clínicos veterinários de 41,7% dos estabelecimentos relataram diagnóstico de algum caso de LV de cão domiciliado em Salvador, mas sem confirmação de autoctonia. Os distr