Domestic dogs carriers of Leishmania infantum, Leishmania tropica and Crithidia fasciculata as potential reservoirs for human visceral leishmaniasis in northeastern Iran.

The high proportion of asymptomatic dogs in the study areas represent they act as potential reservoirs in the transmission cycle of Leishmania spp. and also Crithidia fasciculata as an emerging agent for the first time. Moreover, our data showed that PCR is a more reliable assay than DAT for detecting Leishmania spp. infection among asymptomatic dogs.