Microcavia australis (Caviidae, Rodentia), a new highly competent host of Trypanosoma cruzi I in rural communities of northwestern Argentina.

CECERE MC; CARDINAL MV; ARRABAL JP; MORENO C; GURTLER RE

ACTA TROPICA

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 142 p. 34 - 40

0001-706X

Rodents are well-known hosts of Trypanosoma cruzi but little is known on the role of some caviomorphrodents. We assessed the occurrence and prevalence of T. cruzi infection in Microcavia australis (?southernmountain, desert or small cavy?) and its infectiousness to the vector Triatoma infestans in four ruralcommunities of Tafí del Valle department, northwestern Argentina. Parasite detection was performed byxenodiagnosis and polymerase chain reaction amplification of the hyper-variable region of kinetoplastDNA minicircles of T. cruzi (kDNA-PCR) from blood samples. A total of 51 cavies was captured in trapsset up along cavy paths in peridomestic dry-shrub fences located between 25 and 85 m from the nearestdomicile. We document the first record of M. australis naturally infected by T. cruzi. Cavies presented avery high prevalence of infection (46.3%; 95% confidence interval, CI = 33.0?59.6%). Only one (4%) of 23cavies negative by xenodiagnosis was found infected by kDNA-PCR. TcI was the only discrete typing unitidentified in 12 cavies with a positive xenodiagnosis. The infectiousness to T. infestans of cavies positiveby xenodiagnosis or kDNA-PCR was very high (mean, 55.8%; CI = 48.4?63.1%) and exceeded 80% in 44% ofthe hosts. Cavies are highly-competent hosts of T. cruzi in peridomestic habitats near human dwellingsin rural communities of Tucumán province in northwestern Argentina.