[Leish-l] Canine VL increases in Brazil's Capital

[jeffreyj at usp.br]

      Recently an article in one of Brasilia's leading newspapers  
(Correio Braziliense 17/07/2008)) drew attention to a survey performed  
by the Local Health authorities in which 327/1000 dogs were considered  
to have VL. All the dogs were from an upper class suburban area known  
as the Lago Norte. It is estimated that the dog population of this  
suburb is around 5,000. Lutzomyia longipalpis was captured in the area.
      For many years canine VL has been endemic in Formosa, Goias  
which is a situated on the Goias/Federal District(DF) boarder but no  
cases where reported in the DF. In 2006 a  year old girl, who lived in  
a a rural area known as Sobradinho II, died from VL and this  as the  
first fatal case in the DF. In that same year 89 human VL cases were  
registered in  the DF but only 4 were considered to be autochthonous.  
Subsequently canine VL was found in dogs living in a condominium  
called Grande Colorado, which is situated within the Sobradinho  
district but closer to the DF's central residential area.
     The epidemiological picture that is emerging is that the VL is  
spreading from the surrounding endemic areas of Goias into the heart  
of the DF, irrespective of the social level of the area. There are two  
possibilities that explain the vector?s presence in these suburban  
areas. Either it has been present in the area all the time but in very  
small numbers or it has invaded the region from neighboring endemic  
areas.  Which ever is the case it seems very likely that the  
tremendous increase and concentration of the canine population could  
be fostering better breeding conditions. Most of the dogs roam free  
during the night in the gardens where they serve as guard dogs, thus  
being exposed to the vector. The disease appears to have fanned out  
from Formosa, Goias along a major highway. It remains to be seen what  
the pattern will be in the future.
     The increase in the population of the DF has been dramatic in the  
past years and is now in the region of 2.5 million. Accompanying this  
is an increase in domestic animals, particularly dogs and cats besides  
wild animals such as rats and marsupials. All serving is potential  
food sources for the vector.