title: Temporal variation of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in native mammals in Chile.
abstract: In the present study, we compared Trypanosoma cruzi infection in four native mammals from a hyperendemic area of Chagas disease in Chile for two different periods to assess the occurrence of interannual variation (1999-2000 vs. 2005-2006). Parasite detection in mammals is performed by polymerase chain reaction assays and confirmed by Southern blot analysis and hybridization test with a universal probe. Results showed significant differences in the levels of T. cruzi infection between the compared periods. We suggest that the major El Niño event occurred in 1997-1998, a large-scale global climatic fluctuation, could be indirectly explaining the extremely high T. cruzi infection in 1999-2000 by means of a time-lag response of the wild transmission cycle of Chagas disease in semiarid Chile after the irruption of small rodent populations.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Carezza
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Botto-Mahan
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Acuña-Retamar
authors.forename: Ximena
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Coronado
authors.forename: Pedro E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Cattan
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Solari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002677:Chile; D008322:Mammals / Q000469:parasitology*; D009893:Opossums / Q000469:parasitology; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D012377:Rodentia / Q000469:parasitology; D013997:Time Factors; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi