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.
Teixeira
Marta M G
MM
Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. mmgteix@icb.usp.br
da Silva
Flávia Maia
FM
Marcili
Arlei
A
Umezawa
Eufrosina S
ES
Shikanai-Yasuda
Maria A
MA
Cunha-Neto
Edécio
E
Kalil
Jorge
J
Stolf
Noedir
N
Stolf
Anna Maria S
AM
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