Chagas Disease in Ancient Hunter-Gatherer Population, Brazil

Lima, Valdirene S.; Iñiguez, Alena Mayo; Otsuki, Koko; Ferreira, Luiz Fernando; Araújo, Adauto; Vicente, Ana Carolina Paulo; Jansen, Ana Maria

doi:10.3201/eid1406.0707

Cited by 42 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…Paleoparasitological data showed that the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi infected South American populations by 9000 years ago, first recorded in Chile's Atacama desert (Aufderheide et al, 2004). Infection was also present among inhabitants of the Brazilian lowlands 7000 years ago (Fernandes et al, 2008;Lima et al, 2008), changing the paradigm that hypothesized an origin in the Bolivian highlands Ferreira et al, 2011).…”

Section: Diet and Parasitism In The New Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food, parasites, and epidemiological transitions: A broad perspective

Reinhard

Ferreira

Bouchet

et al. 2013

International Journal of Paleopathology

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Section: Diet and Parasitism In The New Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food, parasites, and epidemiological transitions: A broad perspective

Reinhard

Ferreira

Bouchet

et al. 2013

International Journal of Paleopathology

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“…In the study of another individual from this same archeological site, Lima et al (2008) observed infection with the TCI genotype of T. cruzi in a human bone fragment dated to 7,000-4,500 BP. The authors described this fragment as belonging to a female approximately 35-39 years old belonging to a population of hunter-gatherers.…”

Section: The Study Of Chagas Disease In Brazilian Prehistorymentioning

confidence: 91%

Paleoparasitology of Chagas disease: a review

Araújo

Jansen

Reinhard

et al. 2009

Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz

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One hundred years since the discovery of Chagas disease associated withAlthough Chagas disease transmission by Triatoma infestans has been eliminated from Brazil, the remaining chronic cases still pose a serious problem, especially in regions of the country where access to health care is more difficult. Chagas disease brings suffering and death for many people in Latin America, where many young adults still die early from cardiac lesions. Brazilian health authorities have been alert to the occurrence (mainly in the Amazon) of oral transmission through the ingestion of foods contaminated with vector-derived infective forms (metacyclic forms) (Dias & Coura 1997, Roque et al. 2008. These cases of oral transmission, occurring as outbreaks, are characterized by the appearance of acute and sometimes quite severe forms of the disease.Chagas disease must also have been a serious problem among prehistoric populations, especially if the possibility of sudden death in young adults and the consequences of the chronic phase, whether intestinal or cardiac is considered. Several paleoparasitological findings point to Chagas infection in various regions of the Americas, as well as cases of severe cardiac and megacolon lesions. This article discusses the evolutionary aspects of trypanosomatids and their transmission to humans in prehistoric times in the Americas. Trypanosomatids in mammalsTrypanosomatids are flagellate protozoa of the Kinetoplastida order, which includes both free-living organisms and parasites. The latter comprise monogenetic and digenetic organisms with extranuclear circular DNA peculiarly arranged as maxi and minicircles. Trypanosomatids of mammals provide an excellent example of how molecular paleoparasitology can shed light on epidemiological and biological questions. Trypanosomatids are very old eukaryotic organisms that probably diverged from the first eukaryotes soon after their association with the mitochondrion.Kinetoplastida are characterized by the presence of kDNA or kinetoplast DNA, an extranuclear DNA network formed by circular molecules, maxi and minicircles and that correspond to the parasite mitochondrial genome, localize near the flagellate's basal body.The Kinetoplastida include the Trypanosomatidae family, an exclusively parasitic taxon that infects a wide range of animals and plants, and the Bodonidae family, that includes parasitic and exclusively freeliving organisms.Trypanosoma cruzi is characterized by important heterogeneity and biological plasticity. These peculiarities were already observed in the pioneering studies by Carlos Chagas and Brumpt and represent an unresolved epidemiological conundrum to this day. The heterogeneity of T. cruzi that is expressed by various markers, as biological (differences in the infection pattern in mice and growth in axenic culture, differences in competence when colonizing culture cells and resistance to chemotherapeutic agents, among others), biochemical and molecular, result in the wide distribution in nature and in distinct epidemiological scenario...

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“…Cabe señalar que el mencionado patrón epidemiológico de T. cruzi en la actualidad revela que la transmisión primitiva se restringió a los ambientes silvestres, donde los insectos vectores se alimentaban de pequeños mamíferos en extensas áreas de Sudamérica sin que el hombre interviniera en el ciclo natural, de tal forma de que existía un equilibrio entre las especies como resultado de un largo período de adaptación (Araújo et al 2008).…”

Section: Insectos Vectores Y La Situación Actual De La Enfermedad De unclassified

“…Fernandes et al (2008) identifican la presencia del parásito mediante análisis molecular de la región miniexon, identificándose el subtipo TCI en una momia del Valle de Peruaçu en Minas Gerais, Brasil, que además presentaba evidencias de megacolon (560 ± 40 A.P.). Lima et al (2008), también consiguen identificar el subtipo TCI en una momia de 7000-4500 A.P. de la misma región.…”

Section: Evidencias Bioarqueológicas De La Enfermedad De Chagasunclassified

Enfermedad de Chagas en poblaciones prehistóricas del norte de Chile

Orellana-Halkyer

Arriaza-Torres

2010

Rev. chil. hist. nat.

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RESUMENLa enfermedad de Chagas es producida por el parásito Trypanosoma cruzi, el cual afecta tanto a seres humanos como a animales, en particular mamíferos marsupiales y placentarios. Las vías de transmisión son diversas, siendo una de las más importantes la vía vectorial, en la que participan insectos infectados con este parásito, animales y humanos. En este artículo de revisión discutimos los postulados sobre la vía de transmisión oral, los hallazgos de T. cruzi en momias de América y especialmente en las del norte de Chile. Presentamos además información que apunta a que la enfermedad de Chagas estuvo presente mucho antes de la conquista europea y de la construcción de viviendas de adobe. Comentamos las hipótesis sobre el vector domiciliado más importante de Sudamérica, Triatoma infestans, su antigüedad en la costa de Arica y los reportes más recientes de otros vectores silvestres. También se discute la información relacionada a la participación en el ciclo de T. cruzi de distintos mamíferos silvestres de Chile y asimismo proponemos el estudio paleoparasitológico en restos zooarqueológicos para conocer las especies de mamíferos reservorios de T. cruzi en la antigüedad.Palabras clave: enfermedad de Chagas, norte de Chile, triatominos, Trypanosoma cruzi, zooarqueología. ABSTRACTChagas diseases is produced by a parasite named Trypanosoma cruzi, that affects humans and other marsupial and placental mammals. Transmission routes are diverse, but the most important transmission is the vector route, which involves the triatomine insects, wild and domestic infected animals, and humans. Here we review the data about oral transmission route and the evidences of the etiological agent (Trypanosoma cruzi) of Chagas disease in pre-Columbian American mummies, making a critical review of the infection in northern Chile. Moreover, we comment on the hypotheses suggested in relation to the most important vector of the infection in South America Triatoma infestans, its antiquity in the Arica coast, and the recent reports about other wild infected vectors in this geographic area. The data presented along this document suggests that Chagas disease was present long before the european conquest and the construction of adobe houses in America. We also discuss the data about the involvement of wild Chilean mammals in the cycle of T. cruzi and propose that the paleoparasitologic study of zooarchaeological remains must be done in the future in order to identify ancient mammalian reservoirs of T. cruzi .

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Chagas Disease in Ancient Hunter-Gatherer Population, Brazil

Cited by 42 publications

References 10 publications

Food, parasites, and epidemiological transitions: A broad perspective

Food, parasites, and epidemiological transitions: A broad perspective

Paleoparasitology of Chagas disease: a review

Enfermedad de Chagas en poblaciones prehistóricas del norte de Chile

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