ESTUDO SOROLÓGICO DE Leptospira spp. EM CÃES DOMICILIADOS DO MUNICÍPIO DE CASTANHAL, PARÁ / SEROLOGICAL STUDY OF Leptospira spp. IN DOGS FROM CASTANHAL, PARÁ

A leptospirose canina e uma antropozoonose causada por diferentes sorovares de Leptospira spp., de distribuicao mundial. Pode acometer humanos, animais domesticos e silvestres, incluindo o cao. Nos caes, as leptospiras se alojam nos rins, havendo sua eliminacao pela urina, com consequente contaminacao ambiental e transmissao a partir do contato direto com outros caes ou pela ingestao de agua e alimentos contaminados (ACHA & SZYFRES, 2001). A falta de censo canino e de controle de reproducao de caes em Castanhal, associada ao elevado indice pluviometrico na regiao amazonica, favorece a sobrevivencia desta bacteria no ambiente, mostrando assim a importância do presente estudo, que tem por objetivo avaliar a soroprevalencia de diferentes sorovares de Leptospira spp. no municipio de Castanhal, Para. Foram coletadas amostras sanguineas de 109 caes domiciliados, sendo 51 machos e 58 femeas de diferentes idades e sadios. As amostras foram testadas pela tecnica de Soroaglutinacao Microscopica (SAM), utilizando 25 sorovares de leptospiras (BRASIL, 1996). Observou-se que 18,35% (20/109) das amostras avaliadas foram positivas. Dos animais reagentes 15% (7/47) tinham ate 2 anos de idade, 21% (9/43) tinham entre 2 e 5 anos e 21% (4/19)  acima de 5 anos. Quanto ao sexo, 25% (13/51) eram machos e 12% (7/58) femeas. De acordo com o questionario aplicado aos proprietarios, 12% (2/17) dos caes sororreagentes tinham acesso a rua acompanhados de seus donos, 18% (11/60) nao saiam de seus domicilios e 23% (7/31) tinham acesso irrestrito a rua. Os sorovares predominantes foram Canicola 11% (12/109) e Patoc 4,6% (5/109) com titulos entre 100 e 3.200 UI. Concluiu-se que os caes avaliados apresentam anticorpos antileptospiricos, podendo ser fontes de infeccao para humanos e outros animais. Outrossim, os resultados apontam para a circulacao de sorovares de leptospiras na area estudada. SUMMARY Canine Leptospirosis is a worldwide distributed anthropozoonosis caused by different serovars of Leptospira spp. This disease can affect humans, domestic and wild animals, including dogs. In dogs, the leptospires lodged in the kidney are eliminated in the urine, with consequent environmental contamination and transmission via direct contact with other dogs or by ingestion of contaminated food and water (ACHA & SZYFRES, 2 001). The lack of animal census and reproduction control of dogs in Castanhal, associated to the high rainfall in the Amazon region, favor the survival of this bacterium in the environment, thus showing the importance of this study, which aims to assess the seroprevalence of different serovars of Leptospira spp. in Castanhal, Para. We collected blood samples from 109 healthy domestic dogs, 51 males and 58 females of different ages. The samples were tested by the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) using 25 serovars of Leptospira (BRAZIL, 1996). It was observed that 18.35% (20/109) of the samples were positive. Of the dogs examined, 15% (7/47) were older than two years, 21% (9/43) were between 2 and 5 years old and 21% (4/19) over 5 years. Regarding gender, 25% (13/51) were male and 12% (7/58) female. According to the questionnaire given to the owners, 12% (2/17) of the seropositive dogs had access to the street accompanied by their owners, 18% (11/60) did not leave their homes while 23% (7/31) had unrestricted access to the street. The predominant serovars were Canicola 11% (12/109) and Patoc 4.6% (5/109), with titers between 100 and 3,200 IU. It was concluded that the evaluated dogs had anti-Leptospira antibodies thus making them a possible source of infection for humans and other animals. Furthermore, the results point out to the circulation of Leptospira serovars in the study area.