Prevalence and spatial distribution of visceral leishmaniasis in dogs Juatuba, Minas Gerais, Brazil/ Prevalencia e distribuicao espacial da leishmaniose visceral em caes do municipio de Juatuba, Minas Gerais, Brasil

The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence and spatial distribution of visceral leishmaniasis in dogs (VLD) at Juatuba city, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 2010. A cross-sectional observational study was performed collecting blood samples from 957 dogs, defined randomly in all city districts. For the sorological diagnosis was used indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), recommended by the Ministry of Health. Geographical coordinates of properties that participated in the survey were marked in order to check the spatial distribution of canine cases. The VLD prevalence was estimated in 10.6%, ranging from 3% to 50.0%, distributed between 70.6% of city districts. Spatial distribution could be observed by scanning the clusters and according to the disease occurrences the demarcation of different risk areas could be obtained. There was an increase of 2.80 times more likely to acquire the VLD on the primary cluster. As of this research the prevention and control actions for VLD were made according to the specificity of each location to prevent the disease spread among dogs and new human cases. Key words: Leishmania infantum, georeferencing, epidemiological indicator. O presente estudo teve como objetivo determinar a prevalencia e a distribuicao espacial da leishmaniose visceral em caes (LVC) do municipio de Juatuba, Minas Gerais, Brasil, no ano de 2010. Foi realizado um estudo observacional transversal por meio de coleta de amostras sanguineas de 957 caes, definidos aleatoriamente em todos os bairros do municipio. No diagnostico sorologico, foram utilizados os testes de Imunofluorescencia Indireta (IFI) e Teste deAdsorcaoEnzimatica (ELISA), preconizados pelo Ministerio da Saude (MS). Foram marcadas as coordenadas geograficas dos imoveis participantes da pesquisa para verificar a distribuicao espacial dos casos caninos. A prevalencia da LVC foi estimada em 10,6%, com variacao de 3 a 50%, distribuida em 70,6% dos bairros do municipio. A distribuicao espacial pode ser observada por meio da varredura de agrupamentos e obtida a demarcacao das areas de risco diferenciado perante a ocorrencia da doenca no municipio de Juatuba. Foi observado aumento de 2,80 vezes mais chances em adquirir a LVC no cluster primario. A partir deste trabalho, as acoes de prevencao e controle a LVC foram feitas de acordo com a especificidade de cada localidade, para evitar a expansao da doenca entre os caes e novos casos humanos em J