Operational difficulties in the use of insecticidal dog collars for the control of visceral leishmaniasis, municipality of Montes Claros, MG, Brazil, 2012.

Objective: to describe operational difficulties in the implementation of deltamethrin-impregnated dog collars for the control of visceral leishmaniasis.

Methods: this was a community intervention trial in the municipality of Montes Claros, MG, Brazil, comparing (i) control area - dogs without dog collars - and (ii) intervention area - use of 4% deltamethrin-impregnated collars; an initial serological survey was performed, followed by three further cycles (at 12, 18 and 24 months).

Results: out of 4,388 dogs initially seronegative wearing collars, 36.9% were not found in the second cycle, 27.0% of them were lost owing to disappearance/given away/sale, and 22.6% because no one was at home; 56.1% of collars were lost in one year; while among dogs that stayed longer in the study, collar loss was lower.

Conclusion: high frequencies of collar loss and no one being at home at the time of the visit are operational difficulties for the implementation of a national control program based on the strategy evaluated.