title: Domestic, peridomestic and wild hosts in the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in the Caatinga area colonised by Triatoma brasiliensis.
abstract: The role played by different mammal species in the maintenance of Trypanosoma cruzi is not constant and varies in time and place. This study aimed to characterise the importance of domestic, wild and peridomestic hosts in the transmission of T. cruzi in Tauá, state of Ceará, Caatinga area, Brazil, with an emphasis on those environments colonised by Triatoma brasiliensis. Direct parasitological examinations were performed on insects and mammals, serologic tests were performed on household and outdoor mammals and multiplex polymerase chain reaction was used on wild mammals. Cytochrome b was used as a food source for wild insects. The serum prevalence in dogs was 38% (20/53), while in pigs it was 6% (2/34). The percentages of the most abundantly infected wild animals were as follows: Thrichomys laurentius 74% (83/112) and Kerodon rupestris 10% (11/112). Of the 749 triatomines collected in the household research, 49.3% (369/749) were positive for T. brasiliensis, while 6.8% were infected with T. cruzi (25/369). In captured animals, T. brasiliensis shares a natural environment with T. laurentius, K. rupestris, Didelphis albiventris, Monodelphis domestica, Galea spixii, Wiedomys pyrrhorhinos, Conepatus semistriatus and Mus musculus. In animals identified via their food source, T. brasiliensis shares a natural environment with G. spixii, K. rupestris, Capra hircus, Gallus gallus, Tropidurus oreadicus and Tupinambis merianae. The high prevalence of T. cruzi in household and peridomiciliar animals reinforces the narrow relationship between the enzootic cycle and humans in environments with T. brasiliensis and characterises it as ubiquitous.
authors.affiliation: Secretaria de Saúde do Estado do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Claudia Mendonça
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Saúde Comunitária, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luciano Pamplona de Góes
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Cavalcanti
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisa René Rachou-Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Rita de Cássia Moreira de
authors.initials: Rde C
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisa René Rachou-Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Silvia Ermelinda
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Samanta Cristina das Chagas
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Xavier
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ana Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.affiliation: Secretaria de Saúde do Estado do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Relrison Dias
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Ramalho
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisa René Rachou-Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Liléia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Diotaiut
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002415:Cats; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000635:transmission*; D002645:Chickens / Q000469:parasitology; D048293:Didelphis / Q000469:parasitology; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D017753:Ecosystem; D005191:Family Characteristics; D006041:Goats / Q000469:parasitology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D008116:Lizards / Q000469:parasitology; D012889:Mephitidae / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D048309:Monodelphis / Q000469:parasitology; D060885:Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012377:Rodentia / Q000469:parasitology; D012424:Rural Population; D013552:Swine / Q000469:parasitology; D014224:Triatoma / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000502:physiology*