Browsing by Author "Correa, Juana P."

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    Blood-Meal Sources and Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in Coastal and Insular Triatomine Bugs from the Atacama Desert of Chile
    (2022-04-08) Quiroga, Nicol; Correa, Juana P.; Campos-Soto, Ricardo; San Juan, Esteban; Araya-Donoso, Raúl; Díaz-Campusano, Gabriel; González, Christian R.; Botto-Mahan, Carezza
    Mepraia parapatrica is one of the lesser known and less abundant sylvatic triatomine species naturally infected by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. M. parapatrica lives in sympatry with T. cruzi-infected rodents, but only birds, reptiles, and marine mammals have been reported as blood-meal sources of this vector species by serology. The distribution range of this kissing bug overlaps with fishers’ settlements and tourist areas, and therefore the study of the blood-meal sources of this triatomine species is relevant. Here, we determined the blood-meal sources of M. parapatrica by NGS or standard sequencing from a coastal mainland area and an island in northern Chile, and T. cruzi infection by real-time PCR. The blood-meals of. M parapatrica included 61.3% reptiles, 35.5% mammals (including humans) and 3.2% birds. Feeding on reptiles was more frequent on the mainland, while on the island feeding on mammals was more frequent. The presence of T. cruzi-infected triatomine bugs and humans as part of the diet of M. parapatrica in both areas represents an epidemiological threat and potential risk to the human population visiting or established in these areas. Currently there are no tools to control wild triatomines; these results highlight the potential risk of inhabiting these areas and the necessity of developing information campaigns for the community and surveillance actions.
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    Lizards as Silent Hosts of Trypanosoma cruzi
    (2022-06) Botto-Mahan, Carezza; Correa, Juana P.; Araya-Donoso, Raúl; Farías, Francisca; San Juan, Esteban; Quiroga, Nicol; Campos-Soto, Ricardo; Reyes-Olivares, Claudio; González-Acuña, Daniel
    We assessed 4 lizard species in Chile for Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, and 1 species for its ability to transmit the protozoan to uninfected kissing bugs. All lizard species were infected, and the tested species was capable of transmitting the protozoan, highlighting their role as T. cruzi reservoirs.
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    Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in Desmodus rotundus (common vampire bat) and Histiotus montanus (small big-eared brown bat) from Chile
    (2021-10-21) Quiroga, Nicol; Campos Soto, Ricardo; Yánez Meza, Andrea; Rodríguez San Pedro, Annia; Allendes, Juan L.; Bacigalupo, Antonella; Botto-Mahan, Carezza; Correa, Juana P.
    The protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, is transmitted by infected feces or consumption of blood-sucking triatomine insects to several mammalian orders including Chiroptera. In Chile, the distribution of several insectivorous and one hematophagous bat species overlaps with those of triatomine vectors, but the T. cruzi infection status of local chiropterans is unknown. In 2018, we live-captured bats from two protected areas in Chile to collect plagiopatagium tissue, feces and perianal swab samples, in search for T. cruzi-DNA by real time PCR assays using species-specific primers. In Pan de Azúcar island (~26◦S), we examined a roost of Desmodus rotundus (common vampire bat) and sampled tissue from 17 individuals, detecting T. cruzi-DNA in five of them. In Las Chinchillas National Reserve (~31◦S), we examined two roosts of Histiotus montanus (small big-eared brown bat), collecting feces or perianal swab samples from eight individuals, detecting T. cruzi-DNA in four of them. This is the first report of T. cruzi-DNA evidence in bat species from Chile. Both vector-borne and oral transmission are potential infection routes that can explain our results. Further investi gation is needed for a better understanding of the role of bats in the T. cruzi transmission cycle.