First Record of Leishmania (Viannia) sp. and High Prevalence of Anaplasma marginale and Trypanosoma theileri in Zebu Cattle from Zenú Communities in Northern Colombia

Colombia has the fourth largest livestock herd on the American continent. Cattle farms are expanding in Colombia, sometimes impacting traditional communities and reserves. This is especially true for the Zenú ethnic group, whose ancestral territory includes the valleys of the Sinú and San Jorge rivers, as well as the Caribbean coast around the Gulf of Morrosquillo, in the departments of Córdoba and Sucre. The present study examined the prevalence of trypanosomatids and <i>Anaplasma</i> spp. in zebu cattle grazing in seven Zenú communities in the Sucre department. Of the 110 cattle sampled, 56 (50.9%) tested positive for trypanosomatids. Forty <i>18S</i> rRNA gene sequences generated showed >99% identity with <i>Trypanosoma theileri,</i> while one sequence demonstrated 99.6% identity with <i>Leishmania</i> (<i>Viannia</i>) <i>braziliensis</i> and <i>Leishmania</i> (<i>Viannia</i>) <i>panamensis</i>; sequencing of the remaining 15 positive samples was unsuccessful. Regarding <i>Anaplasma</i> spp., 96 (87.3%) samples were positive, and the 14 <i>msp4</i> gene sequences generated displayed >99% identity with <i>Anaplasma marginale</i>. Thus, <i>T. theileri</i> and <i>A. marginale</i> were prevalent in cattle from all Zenú communities, while <i>Leishmania</i> (<i>Viannia</i>) sp. was found in a cow from the community of La Gallera. Our findings indicate that these agents are common in zebu cattle from Zenú communities, underscoring the need for preventive measures to reduce the infection burden and potential implications for cattle production in these areas.