Relationship between clinical and pathological signs and severity of canine leishmaniasis

Abstract

Canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) is a zoonotic disease that presents variable clinical and laboratory aspects. The aims of this study were to identify the main biochemical/hematological status of dogs naturally infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum and to associate theses parameters with clinical forms of CVL. Blood samples were analyzed from 51 dogs, 15 uninfected (control group) and 36 infected, which were classified clinically in three groups: asymptomatic (n=12), oligosymptomatic (n=12) and symptomatic (n=12). All the infected dogs showed lower albumin/globulin ratios (A-G ratio) than the limit of reference. The mean values of total protein, urea, α-globulin 2, globulin and A-G ratio of infected dogs were outside the reference interval and differed significantly from those of the controls. Anemia was detected only in groups that showed clinical signs of the disease, and a statistical analysis indicated a significantly higher frequency of lower eritrogram in these groups than in the asymptomatic group. In addition, a significant association was observed between anemia and the presence of the symptoms, with dogs displaying higher erythrogram values showing better clinical conditions. These results provide additional evidence that the clinical forms of CVL may reflect on the erythrogram status.