Estudio del perfil electroforético en sueros de caninos con leishmaniasis visceral de Posadas, provincia de Misiones, Argentina

visceral leishmaniasis in a zoonotic disease caused by protozoan leishmania infantum (syn. chagasi), transmited by phlebotomine lutzomyia longipalpis. canines are its main reservoir in urban and suburban areas. forty sera from sick dogs with leishmaniasis confirmed by parasitological diagnosis were analized in a retrospective study. sera were obtained during 2006-2008 in the city of posadas, misiones province, argentina. eighty % (32 out of 40) of these samples showed distortions in the electrophoretic profile, characterized by a diminished albumin/globulin ratio and the presence of polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia in 52.5 % (21 out of 40) of the samples, or igg-monoclonal hypergammaglobulinemia in 27.5 % (11 out of 40) of the samples. five of these sera with altered electrophoretic profile showed normal protein concentrations, while the other showed hyperproteinemia. these results show that hypergammaglobulinemia and a diminished albumin/ globulin ratio were common pathological findings in this outbreack, as it has been described elsewhere.