scholarly journals Trypanosoma cruzi-infected triatomines and rodents co-occur in a coastal island of northern Chile

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9967
Author(s):  
Ricardo Campos-Soto ◽  
Gabriel Díaz-Campusano ◽  
Nicol Quiroga ◽  
Catalina Muñoz-San Martín ◽  
Ninette Rives-Blanchard ◽  
...  

Trypanosoma cruzi, the cause agent of Chagas disease, is transmitted mainly by blood-feeding insects of the subfamily Triatominae. The T. cruzi life cycle alternates between triatomines and mammalian hosts, excluding birds and reptiles. Triatomines of Mepraia genus are wild vectors of T. cruzi in Chile. Mepraia specimens infected with T. cruzi have been detected in Pan de Azúcar and Santa María islands. The most common vertebrates that inhabit these islands are birds and reptiles, and it is unknown whether small mammals are present. Consequently, it is relevant to know whether there are any T. cruzi-infected small mammals on those islands to elucidate the T. cruzi cycle. To clarify this crossroads, islands of northern Chile were explored to determine if T. cruzi-infected triatomines and rodents co-occur in islands of northern Chile. T. cruzi DNA was detected by conventional and real-time PCR in three islands: on Santa María and Pan de Azúcar islands T. cruzi was detected in Mepraia sp samples, while on Pan de Azúcar (6.1%) and Damas islands (15%) was detected in the rodent Abrothrix olivacea. We show for the first time in Chile the occurrence of insular rodents infected with T. cruzi, and a complete T. cruzi life cycle in a coastal island. Our results provide new insights to understand the T. cruzi infection in the wild cycle.

Acta Tropica ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 170-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sérgio Caldas ◽  
Ivo Santana Caldas ◽  
Lívia de Figueiredo Diniz ◽  
Wanderson Geraldo de Lima ◽  
Riva de Paula Oliveira ◽  
...  

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Abdullah D. Alanazi ◽  
Abdulaziz S. Alouffi ◽  
Mohamed S. Alyousif ◽  
Mohammad Y. Alshahrani ◽  
Hend H. A. M. Abdullah ◽  
...  

Dogs and cats play an important role as reservoirs of vector-borne pathogens, yet reports of canine and feline vector-borne diseases in Saudi Arabia are scarce. Blood samples were collected from 188 free-roaming dogs and cats in Asir (70 dogs and 44 cats) and Riyadh (74 dogs), Saudi Arabia. The presence of Anaplasma spp., Bartonella spp., hemotropic Mycoplasma spp., Babesia spp., and Hepatozoon spp. was detected using a multiplex tandem real-time PCR. PCR-positive samples were further examined with specific conventional and real-time PCR followed by sequencing. Dogs from Riyadh tested negative for all pathogens, while 46 out of 70 dogs (65.7%) and 17 out of 44 cats (38.6%) from Asir were positive for at least one pathogen. Positive dogs were infected with Anaplasma platys (57.1%), Babesia vogeli (30%), Mycoplasma haemocanis (15.7%), and Bartonella henselae (1.4%), and cats were infected with Mycoplasma haemofelis (13.6%), Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum (13.6%), B. henselae (9.2%), and A. platys (2.27%), all of which are reported for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Co-infection with A. platys and B. vogeli was detected in 17 dogs (24.28%), while coinfections were not detected in cats. These results suggest that effective control and public awareness strategies for minimizing infection in animals are necessary.


2019 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-31
Author(s):  
Fabio Massaccesi

Abstract This contribution intends to draw attention to one of the most significant monuments of medieval Ravenna: the church of Santa Maria in Porto Fuori, which was destroyed during the Second World War. Until now, scholars have focused on the pictorial cycle known through photographs and attributed to the painter Pietro da Rimini. However, the architecture of the building has not been the subject of systematic studies. For the first time, this essay reconstructs the fourteenth-century architectural structure of the church, the apse of which was rebuilt by 1314. The data that led to the virtual restitution of the choir and the related rood screen are the basis for new reflections on the accesses to the apse area, on the pilgrimage flows, and on the view of the frescoes.


2013 ◽  
Vol 689 ◽  
pp. 546-550
Author(s):  
Xue Hong Gan ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Shi Mei Liu

To build carbon dioxide emission evaluation model in construction life cycle is the key link to make low-carbon research of theoretical studies head towards practical application. For the first time, residential quarter is selected as the object in the study, carbon dioxide emission management responsibility of owner and property being considered and carbon dioxide emission evaluation model in construction life cycle based on matlab as well as database of carbon dioxide factor being built initially. Net carbon dioxide emission information will be shown timely, then carbon dioxide emission and absorption can be adjusted by property management accordingly.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Ballesteros-Rodea ◽  
M. Santillán ◽  
S. Martínez-Calvillo ◽  
R. Manning-Cela

The hemoflagellateTrypanosoma cruziis the causative agent of American trypanosomiasis. Despite the importance of motility in the parasite life cycle, little is known aboutT. cruzimotility, and there is no quantitative description of its flagellar beating. Using video microscopy and quantitative vectorial analysis of epimastigote trajectories, we find a forward parasite motility defined by tip-to-base symmetrical flagellar beats. This motion is occasionally interrupted by base-to-tip highly asymmetric beats, which represent the ciliary beat of trypanosomatid flagella. The switch between flagellar and ciliary beating facilitates the parasite's reorientation, which produces a large variability of movement and trajectories that results in different distance ranges traveled by the cells. An analysis of the distance, speed, and rotational angle indicates that epimastigote movement is not completely random, and the phenomenon is highly dependent on the parasite behavior and is characterized by directed and tumbling parasite motion as well as their combination, resulting in the alternation of rectilinear and intricate motility paths.


2003 ◽  
Vol 104 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan M. BUSTAMANTE ◽  
Héctor W. RIVAROLA ◽  
Alicia R. FERNÁNDEZ ◽  
Julio E. ENDERS ◽  
Ricardo FRETES ◽  
...  

Chagas' disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted by reduviid bugs. The World Health Organization has estimated that about 16–18 million people in the Americas are infected, and that more than 100 million are at risk. In the present study we have used a murine model to analyse if particular T. cruzi strains (Tulahuen strain and SGO-Z12 isolate from a chronic patient) and/or re-infection may determine, during the indeterminate phase of experimental Chagas' disease, changes that could explain the different evolution of cardiac lesions. Re-infected mice reached higher parasitaemias than those infected for the first time. The survival in the indeterminate phase of mice infected with Tulahuen strain was 50.0%, while the SGO-Z12-infected group presented a significantly higher survival rate (77.1%; P<0.01). The SGO-Z12-re-infected group showed a survival rate (70.9%) significantly higher than that of the Tulahuen-re-infected group (37.0%; P<0.01). Electrocardiographic abnormalities were found in 66% of Tulahuen-infected mice, while in SGO-Z12-infected group such abnormalities were found in only 36% of animals (P<0.01). The two groups exhibited similar percentages of electrocardiographic dysfunction on re-infection, although intraventricular blocks were more frequent in Tulahuen-re-infected mice (P<0.01). Hearts from infected or re-infected mice with either parasite showed mononuclear infiltrates. The SGO-Z12-re-infected and Tulahuen-re-infected groups exhibited a significantly diminished affinity (P<0.05) and a significantly increased density (P<0.05) of cardiac β-adrenergic receptors compared with the infected and non-infected groups. The indeterminate phase of Chagas' disease is defined as a prolonged period that is clinically silent, but the present findings show that different T. cruzi strains and re-infection are able to alter the host–parasite equilibrium, and these factors may be responsible for inducing progressive cardiopathy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezequiel Andres Vanderhoeven ◽  
Jessica P. Mosmann ◽  
Adrián Díaz ◽  
Cecilia G. Cuffini

Abstract Chlamydias are obligated intracellular Gram-negative bacteria, considered important zoonotic pathogens, broadly present in several bird species and responsible for economic losses in animal production. We analyzed the presence of Chlamydial species with zoonotic risk in farm animals in a highly biodiverse area and with great human circulation, the Argentine, Brazil and Paraguay tri-border area. We surveyed nine farms in an area and nasally swabbed a total of 62 animals. DNA was extracted and specific PCR was performed to identify chlamydial species. We detected Chlamydia spp . in 6.5% (4/62) of the animals tested, positive samples belonged to cattle and none of them showed symptoms of respiratory disease nor had been diagnose with reproductive diseases. Specific nested PCR confirmed two samples belonged to C. pecorum and two to C. psittaci . We report for the first time Chlamydia circulation with zoonotic risk in the region. Surveys in birds and wild mammals could give a better understanding to know what Chlamydial species are circulating in the wild interface. The zoonotic potential should be taking into account as farm workers and the surrounding population could be silent carriers or have respiratory diseases being underdiagnosed, and therefore should be considered in the differential diagnoses.


2013 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Toledo ◽  
Fernanda Vergara ◽  
Sylvia Ortiz ◽  
Ricardo Campos ◽  
Ximena Coronado ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martín Klappenbach ◽  
Candela Medina ◽  
Ramiro Freudenthal

AbstractIn the wild, being able to recognize and remember specific locations related to food sources and the associated attributes of landmarks is a cognitive trait important for survival. In the present work we show that the crab Neohelice granulata can be trained to associate a specific environment with an appetitive reward in a conditioned place preference task. After a single training trial, when the crabs were presented with a food pellet in the target quadrant of the training arena, they were able to form a long-term memory related to the event. This memory was evident at least 24 h after training and was protein-synthesis dependent. Importantly, the target area of the arena proved to be a non-neutral environment, given that animals initially avoided the target quadrant. In the present work we introduce for the first time an associative one-trial memory paradigm including a conditioned stimulus with a clear valence performed in a crustacean.


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