Seroprevalence of T. cruzi infection in Canis familiaris, Sucre state, Venezuela

Abstract

Introduction. T. cruzi infections in humans have been extensively studied in Venezuela, however, the reservoirs of the disease have been little studied.

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the seroepidemiology of T. cruzi in dogs in Sucre state, Venezuela.

Materials and methods. This was a cross-sectional and prospective study conducted in 95 towns and 577 dwellings in 15 municipalities of Sucre state, Venezuela, from August to November 2008. Serum samples from dogs were tested by the CruziELISA kit and the multiple antigens binding assay (MABA). In addition, epidemiological surveys were undertaken to evaluate the risk factors.

Results. We surveyed dogs from 576 houses in 95 rural towns in the15 municipalities of Sucre state. A total of 363 dogs were evaluated (mean age: 2.6 ± 2.2 years, male: 226, female: 137). The combination of the ELISA / MABA detected 78 positive sera, sixty nine negative and 10 inconclusive results. This gave a seroprevalence for T. cruzi infection in dogs in Sucre state of 22.1% (95% CI: 20.58-22.4%). There was no statistically significant association between dogs infected with T. cruzi and the following epidemiological variables: hunting dogs, dogs which sleep outdoors and wander freely around the town, sex of the dog or their eating habits. T. cruzi infection was associated with age, being significantly higher in dogs aged 0 to 3 years as compared to the older groups.

Conclusions. The high T. cruzi seroprevalence detected in dogs shows that this represents a high risk factor for the transmission of this parasite to human populations.

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.v33i2.760