title: [High prevalence of infection with Leishmania (Kinetoplastea: Trypanosomatidae) in dogs in northern Colombia].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although the dog is considered to be the main domestic reservoir of Leishmania infantum in several Latin American countries, the rate of infection with Leishmania parasites remains unknown in dogs from foci of visceral leishmaniasis of northern of Colombia.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of Leishmania infection in canine population from department of Sucre in northern Colombia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The canine population of rural areas of the municipalities of Sincelejo, Sampués and Ovejas was studied. Parasites of the genus Leishmania were detected by amplifying a DNA segment of the small ribosomal subunit (rSSU). The relationship among sex, age group and clinical signs with infection by Leishmania was analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A 561 bp fragment of the Leishmania rSSU was amplified in 34.9% (29/83), 35.7% (15/42) and 11.1% (1/9) of the dogs analyzed from Sincelejo, Sampués and Ovejas, respectively. Overall prevalence of Leishmania infection was 33.6%. A 650 bp band, characteristic of parasites of the genus Trypanosoma, was amplified in two dogs from Sincelejo and Sampués and in one dog from Ovejas. The 64.2% of the dogs that showed clinical signs compatible with canine leishmaniasis, was PCRpositive. A statistically significant relationship was found between dogs over 33 months old and positivity to Leishmania (p=0.043). No relationship was observed between sex and positivity to Leishmania (p=0.85) .
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A third of the canine population studied is infected with Leishmania , which could support its potential role as a source of infection for the insect vector.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Sucre, Sincelejo, Colombia.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paternina Gómez
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Sucre, Sincelejo, Colombia.
authors.forename: Yirys
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Díaz-Olmos
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Sucre, Sincelejo, Colombia.
authors.forename: Luis Enrique
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Paternina
authors.affiliation: SUE-Caribe, Cartagena, Colombia.
authors.forename: Eduar Elías
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Bejarano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007891:Leishmania; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012423:Rural Health