Hepatozoon canis are protozoa transmitted to dogs mainly by ticks of the Rhipicephalus sanguineus species. In Colombia, H. canis has been detected; however, only one study using the PCR technique is available detecting this hemoparasite. This study reports a frequency of infection of 8.6% (30/350 samples). H. canis was detected in blood samples from domestic dogs in the city of Cucuta (Colombia), by real-time PCR using hybridization probes with duplex detection and internal control of GADPH amplification, using primers and probes designed in this study.

Hepatozoon canis are protozoa transmitted to dogs mainly by ticks of the Rhipicephalus sanguineus species. In Colombia, H. canis has been detected; however, only one study using the PCR technique is available detecting this hemoparasite. This study reports a frequency of infection of 8.6% (30/350 samples). H. canis was detected in blood samples from domestic dogs in the city of Cucuta (Colombia), by real-time PCR using hybridization probes with duplex detection and internal control of GADPH amplification, using primers and probes designed in this study.