Risk factors associated to canine visceral leishmaniasis in Uruguaiana city, Brazil

The present study aimed to evaluate factors associated with canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in areas with higher seroprevalence of it in Uruguaiana city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, during the year of 2012. A semi-structured questionnaire with socioeconomic and environmental questions was applied in Leishmania endemic regions of the city. The survey data were analyzed by multivariate statistics and the associations between them were presented as odds ratio within a 95% confidence limit. The relationships between the studied variables showed no statistically significant difference between the dwellings with positive and negative dogs. However, when analyzing the odds ratio, the presence of green areas larger than 10m(2) turned the house into an area of potential risk for CVL (OR=2.53). There was no difference among the socioeconomic variables education and income, though the groups with lower education and income showed a higher seroprevalence of CVL. The city of Uruguaiana is already located within the CVL broadcasting area and is taken as an endemic region of the disease, with seropositive dogs in all neighborhoods. Thus, the determinants for an increased Leishmania sp. infection could not be indicated, even so, the maintenance of green areas around the households represented a risk factor for being a potential vector shelter.