Shelter cats host infections with multiple Trypanosoma cruzi discrete typing units in southern Louisiana

Abstract

Trypanosoma cruzi is a zoonotic parasite endemic in the southern US and the Americas, which may frequently infect dogs, but limited information is available about infections in cats. We surveyed a convenience sample of 284 shelter cats from Southern Louisiana to evaluate T. cruzi infection using serological and PCR tests. Parasites from PCR positive cats were also genotyped by PCR and deep sequencing to assess their genetic diversity. We detected a seropositivity rate for T. cruzi of at least 7.3% (17/234), and 24.6% of cats (70/284) were PCR positive for the parasite. Seropositivity increased with cat age (R2 = 0.91, P = 0.011), corresponding to an incidence of 7.2% ± 1.3 per year, while PCR positivity decreased with age (R2 = 0.93, P = 0.007). Cats were predominantly infected with parasites from TcI and TcVI DTUs, and to a lesser extent from TcIV and TcV DTUs, in agreement with the circulation of these parasite DTUs in local transmission cycles. These results indicate that veterinarians should have a greater awareness of T. cruzi infection in pets and that it would be important to better evaluate the risk for spillover infections in humans.

Genetic diversity of Trypanosoma cruzi infecting raccoons (Procyon lotor) in 2 metropolitan areas of southern Louisiana: implications for parasite transmission networks

“…Maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees were constructed using PHYML as implemented in phylogeny.fr including separate iterations of trees for DTU TcI only, DTUs TcII/TcV/TcVI only and DTU TcIV only. Mini-exon sequences from triatomine vectors, dogs, cats, rodents, non-human primates and humans from North America (Pronovost et al ., 2018 ; Villanueva-Lizama et al ., 2019 ; Herrera et al ., 2019 a ; Dumonteil et al ., 2020 a , 2020 b , 2021 ) were also included for comparison.…”

“…In southern Louisiana, and across the southern United States (US), Trypanosoma cruzi infection exists as an important anthropozoonosis, prevalent in both wildlife and domestically maintained species in this region. Infection has been reported in rodents, dogs, cats, non-human primates and even a domestic llama in the state (Pronovost et al ., 2018 ; Elmayan et al ., 2019 ; Herrera et al ., 2019 a ; Dumonteil et al ., 2021 ; Thompson et al ., 2021 ). Transmission occurs through contact with infected feces of Triatoma sanguisuga insects, the primary vector in the state, though both oral transmission resulting from ingestion of infected insects and congenital transmission have also been suggested to contribute to wildlife infection (Roellig et al ., 2009 b ; Kribs-Zaleta, 2010 ).…”

“…Indeed, parasites from the closely related DTUs II/V/VI were identified in autochthonous human cases in Texas in a blood donor study, though exact DTU could not be determined given the sequencing approach used (Garcia et al ., 2017 ). With the advent of next-generation sequencing approaches that allow for the identification of multiple genotypes per sample as well as low-frequency genotypes, the presence of DTUs TcII, TcV and TcVI was also confirmed in wild and domestic animals in Louisiana (Pronovost et al ., 2018 ; Dumonteil et al ., 2020 a , 2020 b , 2021 ).…”

Metabolomics of developmental changes in Triatoma sanguisuga gut microbiota

“…At least 11 triatomine species can transmit T. cruzi in the United States, with Triatoma sanguisuga the most relevant species in the southeastern part of the country [3]. It is responsible for an active zoonotic parasite transmission cycle involving multiple sylvatic and synanthropic mammalian hosts, with frequent spill-over in domestic animals including pet dogs and cats [4][5][6][7], and occasional cases of autochthonous human cases, as seen in Mississippi [8], Tennessee [9] and Louisiana [10].…”

Technological advances in the serological diagnosis of Chagas disease in dogs and cats: a systematic review

“…Only 7.6% of the cats were simultaneously positive to both tests, showing a large discrepancy between these methods [ 123 ]. Recent studies in the US revealed 7.3–11.4% of the cats were seropositive in South Texas [ 12 ] and Louisiana [ 124 ], respectively. Among studies that investigated T. cruzi infections in cats, the highest prevalence was reported in Trinidad and Mercedes, two rural villages in the province of Santiago del Estero, Argentina [ 17 ].…”