Assessment of liver histological alterations in dogs naturelly infected with L. infantum

Introduction: Canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) is a protozoan disease caused by Leishmania chagasi/ infantum and is endemic for humans and dogs in many regions in Brazil. Dogs are considered to be the main domestic reservoir. Dogs constitute an excellent model to study leishmaniasis, because they share many clinical, immunological and pathological features with humans VL. The aim of the present study was to assess liver histological alterations in dogs naturally infected with Leishmania chagasi.