Transmission routes of visceral leishmaniasis in mammals/Vias de transmissao da leishmaniose visceral em mamiferos

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a chronic disease caused by Leishmania infantum. The major sites of parasite localization in infected animals are the secondary lymphoid organs, bone marrow and cutaneous tissue. However, reports exist on the detection of the parasite in the organs of the male and female genital system. The main route of transmission is related to the hematophagous sandfly vectors of the genus Lutzomyia (New World) and Phlebotomus (Old World). However, other routes of transmission may be mentioned, such as sexual, vertical, hematogenic without vector and others involved in VL epidemiology. Thus, the current article reviews the main forms of transmission of visceral leishmaniasis in mammals. Key words: Leishmania sp, dogs, sexual transmission, vertical transmission. A leishmaniose visceral (LV) e uma doenca cronica causada pelo protozoario Leishmania infantum. Os principais sitios de localizacao do parasito nos animais acometidos pela LV foram orgaos linfoides primarios, secundarios e tegumento. Contudo, existem relatos da deteccao do parasito em orgaos do sistema genital masculino e feminino. A principal via de transmissao decorre da acao hematofaga de vetores flebotomineos pertencentes aos generos Lutzomyia (Novo Mundo) e Phlebotomus (Velho Mundo). Todavia, outras formas de transmissao podem ser relacionadas, como as vias sexual, vertical, hematogena nao vetorial e ainda existe a possibilidade de outros vetores estarem envolvidos na epidemiologia da doenca. Dessa forma, a proposta deste artigo foi revisar as principais formas de transmissao da leishmaniose visceral em mamiferos. Palavras-chave: Leishmania sp., caes, transmissao sexual, transmissao vertical.