Parasitic interactions among Trypanosoma cruzi, triatomine vectors, domestic animals, and wildlife in Big Bend National Park along the Texas-Mexico border.

Parasitic interactions among Trypanosoma cruzi, triatomine vectors, domestic animals, and wildlife in Big Bend National Park along the Texas-Mexico border. Acta Trop. 2018 Sep 08;: Authors: Curtis-Robles R, Meyers AC, Auckland LD, Zecca IB, Skiles R, Hamer SA Abstract National parks attract millions of visitors each year. Park visitors, employees, and pets are at risk of infection with various zoonotic pathogens, including Trypanosoma cruzi, causative agent of Chagas disease. Big Bend National Park is located along the Texas-Mexico border in a region with endemic triatomine insects- vectors of T. cruzi- yet the degree to which the parasite is transmitted in this region is unknown. We collected triatomines for T. cruzi detection and discrete typing unit (DTU) determination, and conducted blood meal analyses to determine recent hosts. As an index of domestic/peridomestic transmission, we tested residential dogs in the Park for exposure to T. cruzi. From 2015-2017, 461 triatomines of three species-Triatoma rubida, T. gerstaeckeri, and T. protracta-were collected in and around the Park. Triatomine encounters peaked in June of each year (44.3% of collections). We detected an overall infection prevalence of 23.1% in adult triatomines (n = 320) and 4.2% in nymph triatomines (n = 24). DTU TcI was the only T. cruzi strain detected. Of 90 triatomines subjected to blood meal analyses, vertebrate host DNA was successfully amplified from ...
Source: Acta Tropica - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Acta Trop Source Type: research