Trypanosoma cruzi-infected triatomines and rodents co-occur in a coastal island of northern Chile.

ABSTRACT: Trypanosoma cruzi, the cause agent of Chagas disease, is transmitted mainly by blood-feeding insects of the subfamily Triatominae. The T. cruzi life cycle alternates between triatomines and mammalian hosts, excluding birds and reptiles. Triatomines of Mepraia genus are wild vectors of T. cruzi in Chile. Mepraia specimens infected with T. cruzi have been detected in Pan de Azúcar and Santa María islands. The most common vertebrates that inhabit these islands are birds and reptiles, and it is unknown whether small mammals are present. Consequently, it is relevant to know whether there are any T. cruzi-infected small mammals on those islands to elucidate the T. cruzi cycle. To clarify this crossroads, islands of northern Chile were explo

SUBMITTER: Campos-Soto R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7568477 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature