Molecular characterization of Trypanosoma cruzi and infection rate of the vector Triatoma dimidiata in Costa Rica

According to the genetic characterization by the analysis of the miniexon gene, strains of Trypanosoma cruzi can be classified into six discrete typing units (DTUs), and the DTU 1 into four distinct genotypes associated with different life cycles. While Chagas disease is endemic in Costa Rica, T . c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology research (1987) 2012-10, Vol.111 (4), p.1615-1620
Main Authors: Zuriaga, María Ángeles, Blandón-Naranjo, Melissa, Valerio-Campos, Idalia, Salas, Ruth, Zeledón, Rodrigo, Bargues, María Dolores
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Chagas Disease - parasitology
Chagas Disease - veterinary
Costa Rica
Disease Vectors
DNA, Protozoan - genetics
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models
Genotype
Haplotypes
Humans
Immunology
Invertebrates
Male
Medical Microbiology
Microbiology
Original Paper
Triatoma - parasitology
Triatoma dimidiata
Trypanosoma cruzi
Trypanosoma cruzi - classification
Trypanosoma cruzi - genetics
Trypanosoma cruzi - isolation & purification
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:According to the genetic characterization by the analysis of the miniexon gene, strains of Trypanosoma cruzi can be classified into six discrete typing units (DTUs), and the DTU 1 into four distinct genotypes associated with different life cycles. While Chagas disease is endemic in Costa Rica, T . cruzi isolates from this region have never been genetically characterized. An analysis of 16 isolates from Costa Rica, based on miniexon gene analysis, showed the existence of two different haplotypes in the country, closely related to the Colombian haplotype group TcIa and to sequences from several Mexican isolates, with eight variable positions in the alignment and a variability of 2.6 % between the compared sequences. No relationship between the habitat, vector or host, and the haplotypes was found, suggesting an active flow of T . cruzi in the country. The present study also reports a very high infection rate (47.3 %, 26 out of 55 specimens) in a Costa Rican population of Triatoma dimidiata , the main vector of Chagas disease in this country. The distribution and abundance of the parasite and its main vector suggest a high risk of Chagas disease emergence in Costa Rica.
ISSN:0932-0113
1432-1955
DOI:10.1007/s00436-012-3000-0