Survey for Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in a Municipality in Northeast Brazil

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An epidemiological survey of Trypanosoma cruzi infection was carried out in Bodoco, located in the western part of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil. Two hundred and forty-one individuals were parasitologically and immunologically screened. Although hemoculture did not reveal the presence of parasites in the blood, the sera of 5 individuals were scored as positive by the indirect fluorescence antibody test and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Seropositivity in individuals above and below the age of 40 was 14.8 and 0.5%, respectively. These results indicate that recent infections with T. cruzi are rare in this area. However, since a T. cruzi-infected triatomid (Triatoma brasiliensis) was captured in a school classroom, this area must be considered endemic. When triatomid feces containing parasites were inoculated into a jird (mongolian gerbil), parasitemia appeared 10 days later. Immunohistochemical staining, using monoclonal antibody specific for T. cruzi, labeled organisms in jird tissues. These observations demonstrate that the jird is a suitable host for experimental T. cruzi infections and that monoclonal antibody is effective for detection of the parasite in host tissues.
東海大学の論文