Higher Seroprevalence ofTrypanosoma cruziInfection in Dogs Than in Humans in an Urban Area of Campeche, Mexico

Abstract

The reservoir capacity of dogs for Trypanosoma cruzi infection was analyzed in the city of Campeche, an urban town located in the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. The city is inhabited by ~96,000 dogs and ~168,000 humans; Triatoma dimidiata is the only recognized vector. In the present study, we sampled 262 dogs (148 stray dogs and 114 pet dogs) and 2800 young people (ranging in age between 15 and 20 years old) and tested for T. cruzi antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Indirect Immunofluorescence, and Western blotting serological assays. Seroprevalence in stray dogs was twice higher than in pet dogs (9.5% vs. 5.3%) with general seroprevalence of 7.6%. In humans, the observed seroprevalence was 76 times lower than in dogs (0.1% vs. 7.6%, respectively). Western blotting analysis showed that dogs' antibodies recognized different T. cruzi antigenic patterns than those for humans. In conclusion, T. cruzi infection in Campeche, Mexico, represents a low potential risk to inhabitants but deserves vigilance.

Transmission and Epidemiology of Zoonotic Protozoal Diseases of Companion Animals

“…A study in Panama determined an overall T. cruzi infection index of 16.2% in dogs (198). In Campeche, Mexico, the prevalence of T. cruzi seropositivity was higher in dogs than in people, with 9.5% positivity in stray dogs and 5.3% positivity in owned dogs (199). Household cats play a much less definitive role in the domestic transmission of CD, with a lower estimated seroprevalence rate than that for dogs (197).…”

High Frequency of Human Blood in Triatoma dimidiata Captured Inside Dwellings in a Rural Community in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, but Low Antibody Seroprevalence and Electrocardiographic Findings Compatible with Chagas Disease in Humans

“…8 In brief, a polystyrene plate (Nunc polysorb plates, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA) was coated with 10 μg/mL protein of Mexican T. cruzi crude extract in alkaline-buffered solution. Human serum was diluted at 1:400, and anti-human IgG-peroxidase conjugate was used at 1:15,000 dilutions (Zymed Laboratory, Santa Cruz, CA).…”

“…In this cycle of transmission, several reservoirs are involved: infected Didelphys virginiana and Peromyscus leucopus have been found in the sylvan cycle, and in the peridomestic and domestic cycles, Canis familiaris, Rattus rattus, Mus musculus, and humans have been found at different rates. [7][8][9] The precise epidemiological role of T. dimidiata in human infection in the Yucatan peninsula should be addressed.…”

Landscape ecology of Trypanosoma cruzi in the southern Yucatan Peninsula

“…The human population in the YP has a heterogeneousT. cruzi prevalence, from 0.1% to 18% (Farfán-Ale et al, 1992;Barrera-Perez et al, 1992;Dumonteil, 1999;Zavala-Velazquez, 2003;Balan et al, 2011;Alducin-Téllez et al, 2011).…”