title: Microcavia australis (Caviidae, Rodentia), a new highly competent host of Trypanosoma cruzi I in rural communities of northwestern Argentina.
abstract: Rodents are well-known hosts of Trypanosoma cruzi but little is known on the role of some caviomorph rodents. We assessed the occurrence and prevalence of T. cruzi infection in Microcavia australis ("southern mountain, desert or small cavy") and its infectiousness to the vector Triatoma infestans in four rural communities of Tafí del Valle department, northwestern Argentina. Parasite detection was performed by xenodiagnosis and polymerase chain reaction amplification of the hyper-variable region of kinetoplast DNA minicircles of T. cruzi (kDNA-PCR) from blood samples. A total of 51 cavies was captured in traps set up along cavy paths in peridomestic dry-shrub fences located between 25 and 85 m from the nearest domicile. We document the first record of M. australis naturally infected by T. cruzi. Cavies presented a very high prevalence of infection (46.3%; 95% confidence interval, CI=33.0-59.6%). Only one (4%) of 23 cavies negative by xenodiagnosis was found infected by kDNA-PCR. TcI was the only discrete typing unit identified in 12 cavies with a positive xenodiagnosis. The infectiousness to T. infestans of cavies positive by xenodiagnosis or kDNA-PCR was very high (mean, 55.8%; CI=48.4-63.1%) and exceeded 80% in 44% of the hosts. Cavies are highly-competent hosts of T. cruzi in peridomestic habitats near human dwellings in rural communities of Tucumán province in northwestern Argentina.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Eco-Epidemiology, Department of Ecology, Genetics and Evolution, Universidad de Buenos Aires-IEGEBA (CONICET-UBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: carla.cecere@gmail.com.
authors.forename: M Carla
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cecere
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Eco-Epidemiology, Department of Ecology, Genetics and Evolution, Universidad de Buenos Aires-IEGEBA (CONICET-UBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Marta V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Cardinal
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Eco-Epidemiology, Department of Ecology, Genetics and Evolution, Universidad de Buenos Aires-IEGEBA (CONICET-UBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical-Ministerio de Salud (INMeT), Neuquén y Jujuy s/n, 3370 Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina.
authors.forename: Juan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Arrabal
authors.affiliation: Coordinación Nacional de Control de Vectores (CNCV), Italia 1971 San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Eco-Epidemiology, Department of Ecology, Genetics and Evolution, Universidad de Buenos Aires-IEGEBA (CONICET-UBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Ricardo E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Gürtler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast / Q000235:genetics; D004199:Disease Vectors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000635:transmission; D012377:Rodentia; D012424:Rural Population; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015047:Zoonoses
chemical_list: D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast
keywords: Cavies; Infectiousness; Molecular diagnosis; Trypanosoma cruzi