13 research outputs found
Discrete typing units of Trypanosoma cruzi identified in rural dogs and cats in the humid Argentinean Chaco
The discrete typing units (DTUs) of Trypanosoma cruzi that infect domestic dogs and cats have rarely been studied.With
this purpose we conducted a cross-sectional xenodiagnostic survey of dog and cat populations residing in 2 infested rural
villages in Pampa del Indio, in the humid Argentine Chaco. Parasites were isolated by culture from 44 dogs and 12 cats with
a positive xenodiagnosis. DTUs were identified from parasite culture samples using a strategy based on multiple
polymerase-chain reactions. TcVI was identified in 37 of 44 dogs and in 10 of 12 cats, whereas TcV was identified in 5 dogs
and in 2 cats âa new finding for cats. No mixed infections were detected. The occurrence of 2 dogs infected with TcIII â
classically found in armadillosâ suggests a probable link with the local sylvatic transmission cycle involving Dasypus
novemcinctus armadillos and a potential risk of human infection with TcIII. Our study reinforces the importance of dogs and
cats as domestic reservoir hosts and sources of various DTUs infecting humans, and suggests a link between dogs and the
sylvatic transmission cycle of TcIII