Introduction:

Leishmania infantum and Trypanosoma cruzi are considered endemic zoonotic agents in rural areas of the country; however, there is a high risk of urbanization due to anthropogenic processes. For this reason, dogs have been proposed as sentinels of these zoonoses given their role as patients, hosts and/or reservoirs.

Objective:

To assess the silent circulation of Leishmania spp. and Tcruzi parasites in canines from urban areas of Sincelejo, Sucre.

Materials and methods:

One hundred canine blood samples were used to amplify the ITS1 region of Leishmania spp. Positive samples were used to amplify the conserved region of the kinetoplast DNA minicircle of L. infantum and for restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis with HaelII endonuclease. In addition, a satellite DNA of T cruzi was amplified. Also, the presence of Ehrlichia canis and Anaplasma platys was evaluated as infections that can influence clinical symptoms and health of animals.

Results:

Leishmania spp. was detected in 32% (32/100) and Tcruzi in 12% (12/100) of the animals, and 7% (7/100) of the samples were positive for both parasites. Also, L. infantum and infections with Anaplasmataceae family parasites were both detected in 18 % (18/100) of the samples. In the same way, co-infections with bacteria and parasites were found in 8 % (8/100) of the animals. Overall, 47 % (47/100) of the animals were infected with at least one agent.

Conclusion:

The circulation of L. infantum and Tcruzi, as well as co-infections of pathogens of the Anaplasmataceae family, is demonstrated in urban areas of Sincelejo. The present study demonstrates the convenience of canines as epidemiological surveillance sentinels of these zoonotic agents.

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