Background and Aim: Although wild boar hunting activities and the hunting dog trade in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes of Brazil overlap both with endemic and with non-endemic areas for visceral leishmaniasis, no study to date has focused on Leishmania spp. exposure among hunting dogs and hunters. The aim of the present study was to assess the presence of Leishmania spp. antibodies in hunting dogs and hunters in different anthropized areas of two Brazilian biomes.

Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 170 hunting dogs and 46 hunters between October 2016 and May 2018. The presence of antibodies against Leishmania spp. in hunting dogs was screened through a dual-path platform immunochromatographic test (DPP rapid test; Bio-Manguinhos/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and in hunters through an rK39-based rapid immunochromatographic test. Both tests were used in accordance with Brazilian Ministry of Health recommendations.

Results: Overall, although antibodies were detected through the immunochromatographic test in 3/170 (0.02%) of these female asymptomatic hunting dogs, all living in anthropized areas of the Atlantic Forest biome in South Brazil, no sample was confirmed through the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All the hunters were non-reactive in the rapid immunochromatographic test.

Conclusion: Our study on three suspicious hunting dogs has suggested that Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum may circulate both in endemic and non-endemic areas in Brazil. In addition, a high rate of hunting dog replacement due to death and trade may have led to less chance of infection and transmission between animals and between animals and humans, which would corroborate the outcomes reported here. Further studies should be conducted to fully establish whether hunting dogs and hunters may be used as sentinels in other areas endemic for Leishmania spp.

Keywords: Brazilian biomes, canine visceral leishmaniasis, hunting activities, Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum, rural dogs.