Trypanosoma cruzi congenital transmission in wild bats
Fecha
2009Metadatos
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Trypanosoma cruzi congenital transmission in wild bats (Molossus molossus), associated with infected
Rhodnius prolixus in a natural habitat from a rural locality in western Venezuela, is reported. T. cruzi blood
circulating trypomastigotes in a pregnant batwere detected by parasitologicalmethods. Polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) assays carried out in samples from the heart and the fetus of the same infected female,
revealed the presence of T. cruzi-specific DNA in both of the tissues, demonstrating transmission of the
infection from the mother to the offspring. Eighty percent of the captured bats and 100% of the examined
fetuses frompregnant specimenswere shownto be infected by T. cruzi, indicating that M. molossus is a very
susceptible species for this parasite, and that T. cruzi congenital transmission is a common phenomenon in
nature. To our knowledge, this seems to be the first report on congenital T. cruzi transmission in wild bats
in Venezuela. The circulation of T. cruzi lineage I in the study areawas demonstrated by typing the isolates
from bats and triatomine bugs captured in the same habitat. The potential epidemiological implication of
these findings in areas where Chagas disease is endemic is discussed.
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Información Adicional
Correo Electrónico | nanes@ula.ve gecr68@hotmail.com pascual@ula.ve |
Editor | Acta Tropica 109 (2009) |
Colación | 78–80 |