Can spleen aspirations be safely used for the parasitological diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniosis? A study on assymptomatic and polysymptomatic animals Stella Maria Barrouin-Melo a,b,c, * , Daniela Farias Larangeira a , Fernando Anto ˆnio de Andrade Filho c , Joelma Trigo d , Fred Silva Julia˜o c , Carlos Roberto Franke c , Paulo Henrique Palis Aguiar a,b,c , Washington Luı ´s Conrado dos-Santos a,e , Lain Pontes-de-Carvalho a,e a Centro de Pesquisas Gonc¸alo Moniz, Fundac¸a˜ o Oswaldo Cruz, Rua Valdemar Falca˜ o 121, Salvador 40295-001, Brazil b Departamento de Patologia e Clı ´ nicas, Escola de Medicina Veterina ´ ria, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Av. Ademar de Barros 500, Salvador 40170-000, Brazil c Laborato ´rio de Infectologia Veterina ´ria, Escola de Medicina Veterina ´ria, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Av. Ademar de Barros 500, Salvador 40170-000, Brazil d Laborato ´rio de Doenc¸ as Tropicais, Hospital Universita ´rio Prof. Edgar Santos, Rua Joa˜ o das Botas s/n, Salvador 40110-060, Brazil e Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Sau ´de Pu ´blica, Fundac¸ a˜ o para o Desenvolvimento das Cie ˆncias, Salvador, Brazil Accepted 5 November 2004 Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of spleen aspiration as a sampling technique for the parasitologica by culture and microscopy of Leishmania (chagasi) infantum. Two hundred and nine domiciled dogs from an endemic area ceral leishmaniasis in Bahia State, Brazil, were studied. Most dogs (87%) were seropositive for anti-L. chagasi antibodies by ELISA. Clinical signs of disease were recorded and t mals monitored during and after spleen puncture in order to detect possible complications associated with the procedure. total of 257 splenic punctures in the 209 animals, only three minor events occurred, with no significant consequence for th and no association with risk factors. Leishmania was isolated from 149/180 (83%) seropositive dogs, and from 6/26 (23%) ative animals. The procedure did not cause adverse side effects or unnecessary suffering and confirmed the diagnosis in a centage of dogs. We conclude that spleen aspiration can be considered an effective and safe procedure for the definitive d canine visceral leishmaniosis. 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Dog; Leishmaniosis; Parasitological diagnosis; Spleen aspiration; Leishmaniasis 1. Introduction Dogs are considered the main reservoir of Leishmania (chagasi) infantum, the causative agent of zoonotic vis- ceral leishmaniosis (Deane, 1961; Travi et al., 2001; Der- eure et al., 2003),a diseaseof major public health importance in the Old and the New World (WHO, 1090-0233/$ - see front matter 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2004.11.010 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 71 356 4320 ext 257; fax: +55 71 356 3911. E-mailaddresses: sbarrouin@cpqgm.fiocruz.br, barrouin@ufba.br (S.M. Barrouin-Melo). www.elsevier.com/locate/tvjl The Veterinary Journal 171 (2006) 331–339 The Veterinary Journal