Aspectos ultrassonográficos em baço por infecção natural por <i>Leishmania </i>spp.

Canine leishmaniasis is a zoonosis of great relevance to public health, with a wide range of clinical presentations and symptoms, which end up being underdiagnosed in non-endemic regions. Caused by a protozoan, dogs are the main reservoirs of this arbovirus, making its control a challenge. Abdominal ultrasound is an easily accessible, painless and low-cost tool, and is of great importance in the management of cases, as it can show lesions. The spleen is an organ that has important functions such as immunological recognition of antigens, production of defense cells and hematopoiesis. In affected animals, upon ultrasound examination, the lesions visualized may mimic changes seen in active inflammation and/or benign or malignant neoplasms due to intense proliferation and structural changes in their cells, with consequent increase in reactivity in the adjacent tissue caused by the protozoan. Therefore, to confirm the diagnosis, other tests are recommended such as histopathology of the altered spleen and parasitological tests to detect the parasite. The objective of this study is to understand these changes that become extremely important for the management of the case, since the region in which the disease was diagnosed is not considered endemic for this pathology.