First finding of Trypanosoma cruzi II in vampire bats from a district free of domestic vector-borne transmission in Northeastern Argentina

Abstract

Establishing the putative links between sylvatic and domestic transmission cycles of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, is of public health relevance. We conducted three surveys to assess T. cruzi infection in wild mammals from a rural and a preserved area in Misiones Province, Northeastern Argentina, which had recently been declared free of vector- and blood-borne transmission of human T. cruzi infection. A total of 200 wild mammals were examined by xenodiagnosis (XD) and/or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the hyper-variable region of kinetoplast DNA minicircles of T. cruzi (kDNA-PCR). The overall prevalence of T. cruzi infection was 8%. Nine (16%) of 57 Didelphis albiventris opossums and two (7%) of 29 Desmodus rotundus vampire bats were positive by both XD and kDNA-PCR. Additionally, one D. rotundus positive for T. cruzi by kDNA-PCR tested positive by satellite-DNA-PCR (SAT-DNA-PCR). The T. cruzi-infected bats were captured indoors and in the yard of a vacant dwelling. All D. albiventris were infected with TcI and both XD-positive D. rotundus by TcII. Fifty-five opossum cubs within the marsupium were negative by XD. The mean infectiousness to the vector was 62% in D. albiventris and 50% in D. rotundus. Mice experimentally infected with a parasite isolate from a vampire bat displayed lesions typically caused by T. cruzi. Our study documents the presence of the genotype TcII in a sylvatic host for the first time in Argentina, and the occurrence of two transmission cycles of T. cruzi in a district free of domestic vector-borne transmission.

Small subunit ribosomal metabarcoding reveals extraordinary trypanosomatid diversity in Brazilian bats

“…For example, recent molecular surveys rank bats as top feeding sources of synanthropic T . cruzi -infected triatomines throughout Colombia, emphasize bats’ bridging of domestic and sylvatic transmission cycles in rural areas of Ecuador [ 45 ] (where non-volant hosts have shown limited infection [ 53 – 54 ]) and implicate bats as long-term refuges for parasites in areas subject to transmission interventions in Argentina [ 46 ]. Evidence of a new T .…”

Development and evaluation of a duplex TaqMan qPCR assay for detection and quantification of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in domestic and sylvatic reservoir hosts

“…Initially, microscopic analysis, blood culture or xenodiagnosis were used for detection and isolation of T. cruzi strains from mammalian reservoirs [19, 20]. Later, studies developed in-house conventional amplification procedures for direct detection and genotyping of T. cruzi in domestic and wildlife reservoirs [6–9, 11, 21, 22] whereas in dogs qPCR assays were carried out [23, 24]. However, methods lacking internal amplification controls could not discriminate between absence of infection and inadequate samples.…”

“…A major question of epidemiological relevance is whether these types of transmission cycles are connected or independent. Characterizing the level of interconnection/ independence of these transmission cycles is paramount to trace the origins of (re)emerging cases in areas under vector or disease surveillance [5, 6].…”

Trypanosoma madeirae sp. n.: A species of the clade T. cruzi associated with the neotropical common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus

“…Several microscopical surveys and experimental infection in mice (Hoare, 1972; Marinkelle, 1976), and molecular studies (Ramírez et al, 2014; Pinto et al, 2015; Argibay et al, 2016; Da Costa et al, 2016; Orozco et al, 2016) have detected T. cruzi in D. rotundus captured in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Ecuador. Trypanosoma cruzi marinkellei and T dionisii, which are phylogenetically closely related to T. cruzi, were also identified in D. rotundus from Brazil (Cavazzana et al, 2010; Lima et al, 2015b; Lourenço et al, 2018; Pegorari et al, 2018), and Argentina (Argibay et al, 2016). In addition, D. rotundus also harbors T. rangeli in Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador (Ramírez et al, 2014; Pinto et al, 2015; Lourenço et al, 2018).…”

“…Therefore, Neotropical bats are hosts for a large and underestimated diversity of trypanosomes that have been unraveled using molecular phylogenetic approaches. The current knowledge on the genetic diversity of trypanosomes infecting hematophagous bats suggests a great diversity of trypanosomes in D. rotundus (Barros et al, 2008; Cavazzana et al, 2010; Ramírez et al, 2014; Pinto et al, 2015; Argibay et al, 2016; Orozco et al, 2016), and Diphylla ecaudata (Cavazzana et al, 2010; Lourenço et al, 2018). In a previous study, we surveyed for trypanosomes in 78 D. rotundus captured in southeastern Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) by hemoculturing (Barros et al, 2008).…”