Modelling Intracellular Parasite Replication in Chagas Disease

C.A. CONDAT; G.J. SIBONA; S. COSSY ISASI

Bariloche, Argentina

Workshop; VIII Latin American Workshop on non-linear Phenomena: LAWNP’05; 2005

We have extended our model for the interaction between the parasite trypanosoma cruzi and the immune system in Chagas disease, by separately describing the intracellular and extracellular parasite stages. The predictions of the extended model accurately reproduce experimental data on the infection evolution during the acute phase of the disease and lead to a prediction of the damage generated by the direct parasite action. We have also analyzed the dynamics of the relevant populations, obtaining the corresponding phase diagrams. A surprising result from our analysis is that a delay in the onset of intracellular replication can be advantageous for the parasite