Serological, parasitological and molecular tests for canine visceral leishmaniosis diagnosis in a longitudinal study.

One of the measures to control visceral leishmaniosis (VL) in Brazil is the identification and culling of the canine reservoir. There is much controversy concerning this strategy, including the proper identification of positive dogs and the fact that the host-parasite relationship changes over time make it more challenging. A dynamic cohort of 62 dogs was followed every three months using serological and parasitological examinations and PCR.

[Canine visceral leishmaniasis evaluation in Poxoréo, Mato Grosso State, Brazil].

Dogs play an important role as reservoir in the domestic cycle of visceral leishmaniasis, a serious public health problem. An epidemiological survey in 1,112 dogs was conducted at the Municipality of Poxoréo State of Mato Grosso, Brazil, using indirect immunofluorescence antibody test where the prevalence was 7.8%.

[Polymerase chain reaction evaluation for canine visceral leishmaniasis diagnosis in dog blood samples].

Canine and human visceral leishmaniasis is endemic in several States of Brazil, and it is associated with infected dogs and the presence of the vector. Aiming at using polymerase chain reaction as a diagnostic tool in dogs, we amplified a 120bp fragment from kDNA of Leishmania spp. by PCR in blood samples.

Taenia saginata: differential diagnosis of human taeniasis by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay.

Speciation of Taenia in human stool is important because of their different clinical and epidemiological features. DNA analysis has recently become possible which overcomes the problems of differentiating human taeniid cestodes morphologically. In the present study, we evaluated PCR coupled to restriction fragment length polymorphism to differentiate Taenia solium from Taenia saginata eggs present in fecal samples from naturally infected patients.