Trypanosoma cruzi load in synanthropic rodents from rural areas in Chile ...

• Main Authors: Yefi-Quinteros, Esteban, MuĂąoz-San MartĂ­n, Catalina, Bacigalupo, Antonella, Correa, Juana, Cattan, Pedro
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: figshare 2018
• Subjects: Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified; Medicine; Microbiology; FOS: Biological sciences; Ecology; Rattus rattus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4029751.v1; https://springernature.figshare.com/collections/Trypanosoma_cruzi_load_in_synanthropic_rodents_from_rural_areas_in_Chile/4029751/1

Abstract Background Trypanosoma cruzi is the agent of Chagas disease, a major public health problem in Latin America. Many wild and domestic animals are naturally infected with T. cruzi; rodents are one of the groups which have been consistently detected infected in different countries. The aim of this work was to characterize blood T. cruzi load in naturally infected rodents from a Chagas disease endemic region in Chile. Methods Baited traps were set in domestic and peridomestic areas of rural dwellings. The rodents were anesthetized and blood sampled; DNA was extracted and the parasite load was quantified by T. cruzi satellite DNA real-time PCR assays. Results Seventy-one rodents of four species, Rattus rattus, Mus musculus, Phyllotis darwini and Octodon degus, were captured; R. rattus was the most abundant species. Fifty-nine samples (83.1%) were T. cruzi-positive and the median value of the parasite load was 2.99 parasite equivalents (par-eq)/ml. The comparison of frequency of infection or parasite load ...