Leishmaniasis

Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo 48(4):219-221, July-August, 2006

BRIEF COMMUNICATION PRESENCE OF Leishmania AMASTIGOTES IN PERITONEAL FLUID OF A DOG WITH LEISHMANIASIS FROM ALAGOAS, NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL

Filipe DANTAS-TORRES(1)

SUMMARY The goal of this short communication is to report the uncommon presence of intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania in peritoneal fluid of a dog withleishmaniasis from Alagoas State, Brazil. Physical examination of an adult male rottweiler suspected to be suffering of leishmaniasis revealed severe loss of weight, ascitis, splenomegaly, moderately enlarged lymph nodes, onychogryphosis, generalized alopecia, skin ulcers on the posterior limbs, and conjunctivitis. Samples of bone marrow, popliteal lymph node, skin ulcer, and peritoneal fluid werecollected and smears of each sample were prepared and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Numerous amastigotes were detected in bone marrow, popliteal lymph node, and skin ulcer smears. Smears of peritoneal fluid revealed the unusual presence of several free and intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania. Future studies are needed to determine whether the cytology of ascitic fluid represents a useful toolfor diagnosis Leishmania infection in ascitic dogs, particularly in those living in areas where canine leishmaniasis is enzootic. KEYWORDS: Canine leishmaniasis; Leishmania sp.; Peritoneal fluid; Diagnosis.

Zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) is historically endemic in Alagoas State. In such state, as observed in other Brazilian northeastern states5, most of cases are from the east region andchildren up to 15 years of age are usually affected by the disease12. However, several aspects of ZVL epidemiology in Alagoas, such as species of Leishmania involved in canine and human infection, canine seroprevalence, phlebotomine sandfly fauna, and pattern of transmission in urban and rural areas, remain to be further investigated. Domestic dogs are considered to be the principal host reservoirof Leishmania infantum (= L. chagasi), the causative agent of ZVL2,5. Hence, canine leishmaniasis (CanL) has a particular importance not only for the clinical veterinarians, but also to public health. In this way, the goal of this short communication is to report the unusual finding of Leishmania amastigotes in peritoneal fluid of a dog with leishmaniasis from the municipality of Maragogi, northcoast of Alagoas, Brazil. An adult male rottweiler suspected to be suffering of leishmaniasis was referred to the Veterinary Hospital of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, during June 2004 with a one-month history of a seriously deteriorated health condition. Physical examination revealed severe loss of weight, ascitis, splenomegaly, moderately enlarged lymph nodes, onychogryphosis,generalized alopecia, skin ulcers on the

posterior limbs, and conjunctivitis. After appropriate immobilization, aspirates from bone marrow, popliteal lymph node, and peritoneal fluid were obtained, as well as imprints of the skin ulcers were made. Duplicate smears were prepared from each sample and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) (Panótico Rápido LB - Laborclin). The microscopic examinationrevealed numerous amastigotes in bone marrow (Fig. 1), skin ulcer, and popliteal lymph node. The cytology of peritoneal fluid smears revealed the presence of macrophages, lymphocytes, polymorphonuclear cells, and unexpectedly of Leishmania amastigotes (Fig. 2). The finding of Leishmania amastigotes in bone marrow and, mainly, the observed clinical expression suggest that the causative agentinvolved in this case of CanL from Alagoas was L. infantum, though the species was not determined. To date, there is no concise description on the presence of amastigotes in peritoneal fluid of dogs with leishmaniasis. In a recent study carried out in Barra de Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro State, the authors affirmed that all imprints made from skin, spleen, liver, heart, lung, kidney, ascitic fluid, and...