Vector-borne transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi among captive Neotropical primates in a Brazilian zoo.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Neotropical primates are important sylvatic hosts of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. Infection is often subclinical, but severe disease has been described in both free-ranging and captive primates. Panstrongylus megistus, a major T. cruzi vector, was found infesting a small-primate unit at Brasília zoo (ZooB), Brazil. ZooB lies close to a gallery-forest patch where T. cruzi circulates naturally. Here, we combine parasitological and molecular methods to investigate a focus of T. cruzi infection involving triatomine bugs and Neotropical primates at a zoo located in the Brazilian Savannah.

Methods

We assessed T. cruzi infection in vectors using optical microscopy (n = 34) and nested PCR (n = 50). We used quantitative PCR (qPCR) to examine

SUBMITTER: Minuzzi-Souza TT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4727406 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature