Domestic dogs and cats as sources of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in rural northwestern Argentina

• Published in: Parasitology Vol. 134; no. 1; pp. 69 - 82
• Main Authors: GÜRTLER, R. E., CECERE, M. C., LAURICELLA, M. A., CARDINAL, M. V., KITRON, U., COHEN, J. E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.01.2007
• Subjects: Age Factors; animal age; Animals; Argentina - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cat Diseases - diagnosis; Cat Diseases - epidemiology; Cat Diseases - immunology; Cat Diseases - parasitology; Cats; Chagas disease; Chagas Disease - diagnosis; Chagas Disease - epidemiology; Chagas Disease - immunology; Chagas Disease - parasitology; Chagas Disease - veterinary; Child; disease incidence; Disease Reservoirs; disease surveillance; Dog Diseases - diagnosis; Dog Diseases - epidemiology; Dog Diseases - immunology; Dog Diseases - parasitology; Dogs; Domestic animals; Environmental health; epidemiological studies; Female; Field study; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models; host feeding; hosts; Humans; Immunization; incidence; infectiousness; insect vectors; Insect Vectors - parasitology; Invertebrates; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mathematical models; Population; population density; Prevalence; Reservoir capacity; Rural Population; seroprevalence; surveillance; Surveys and Questionnaires; Triatoma - parasitology; Triatoma infestans; triatomine bugs; Trypanosoma cruzi; Xenodiagnosis; Argentina; South America; America; host-feeding; Triatoma infestans; cats; triatomine bugs; Chagas disease; dogs; surveillance; incidence; infectiousness; Trypanosoma cruzi; Protozoal disease; Insecta; Heteroptera; Trypanosomiasis; Dog; Reduviidae; Kinetoplastida; Fissipedia; Protozoa; Carnivora; Parasite; Host; Parasitosis; Infection; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Surveillance; Arthropoda; Cat; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 0031-1820; 1469-8161
• DOI: 10.1017/S0031182006001259

The reservoir capacity of domestic cats and dogs for Trypanosoma cruzi infection and the host-feeding patterns of domestic Triatoma infestans were assessed longitudinally in 2 infested rural villages in north-western Argentina. A total of 86 dogs and 38 cats was repeatedly examined for T. cruzi infection by serology and/or xenodiagnosis. The composite prevalence of infection in dogs (60%), but not in cats, increased significantly with age and with the domiciliary density of infected T. infestans. Dogs and cats had similarly high forces of infection, prevalence of infectious hosts (41–42%), and infectiousness to bugs at a wide range of infected bug densities. The infectiousness to bugs of seropositive dogs declined significantly with increasing dog age and was highly aggregated. Individual dog infectiousness to bugs was significantly autocorrelated over time. Domestic T. infestans fed on dogs showed higher infection prevalence (49%) than those fed on cats (39%), humans (38%) or chickens (29%) among 1085 bugs examined. The basic reproduction number of T. cruzi in dogs was at least 8·2. Both cats and dogs are epidemiologically important sources of infection for bugs and householders, dogs nearly 3 times more than cats.