Short communication: Trypanosoma cruzi lineage I in endomyocardial biopsy from a north-eastern Brazilian patient at end-stage chronic Chagasic cardiomyopathy.
Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease, is genetically classified into two major evolutionary lineages, T. cruzi I and T. cruzi II. In Southern American Cone countries it is T cruzi II which causes most cases of severe chronic Chagas disease. Contrary to this, we isolated T. cruzi I nested in endomyocardial biopsies of a chronic chagasic patient with end-stage heart failure. Our finding should alert clinicians to the possibility of severe Chagas disease in all regions where T. cruzi circulates, regardless of its lineage.
Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. mmgteix@icb.usp.br
Marta M G
MM
Teixeira
Flávia Maia
FM
da Silva
Arlei
A
Marcili
Eufrosina S
ES
Umezawa
Maria A
MA
Shikanai-Yasuda
Edécio
E
Cunha-Neto
Jorge
J
Kalil
Noedir
N
Stolf
Anna Maria S
AM
Stolf
D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D002303:Cardiac Output, Low / Q000469:parasitology; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000469:parasitology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006321:Heart / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification