ArticleParasites & vectors2020
In the heart of the city: Trypanosoma cruzi infection prevalence in rodents across New Orleans.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Endemic potential of Chagas disease in the U.S. southwest: updated surveillance of infected Triatomines from the U.S.-Mexico border region.Epidemiology and infection · 2025Article
- Rodent-Borne Parasites and Human Disease: A Growing Public Health Concern.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Review
- Identifying outbreak risk factors through case-controls comparisons.Communications medicine · 2025Review
- Potential vertical transmission of genetically diverse Trypanosoma cruzi in natural rodent populations.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Animal models for exploring Chagas disease pathogenesis and supporting drug discovery.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Review
- Article
- Chagas Disease Diagnostic Testing in Two Academic Hospitals in New Orleans, Louisiana: A Call to Action.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2023Article
- Toward New Epidemiological Landscapes ofTropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Article
- Shelter cats host infections with multiple Trypanosoma cruzi discrete typing units in southern Louisiana.Veterinary research · 2021Article
- Microscopic and Molecular Identification ofIranian journal of parasitologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTrypanosoma cruzi - the causative agent of Chagas disease - is known to circulate in commensal pests, but its occurrence in urban environments is not well understood. We addressed this deficit by determining the distribution and prevalence of T. cruzi infection in urban populations of commensal and wild rodents across New Orleans (Louisiana, USA). We assessed whether T. cruzi prevalence varies according to host species identity and species co-occurrences, and whether T. cruzi prevalence varies across mosaics of abandonment that shape urban rodent demography and assemblage structure in the city.
methodsLeveraging city-wide population and assemblage surveys, we tested 1428 rodents comprising 5 species (cotton rats, house mice, Norway rats, rice rats and roof rats) captured at 98 trapping sites in 11 study areas across New Orleans including nine residential neighborhoods and a natural area in Orleans Parish and a neighborhood in St. Bernard Parish. We also assayed Norway rats at one site in Baton Rouge (Louisiana, USA). We used chi-square tests to determine whether infection prevalence differed among host species, among study areas, and among trapping sites according to the number of host species present. We used generalized linear mixed models to identify predictors of T. cruzi infection for all rodents and each host species, respectively.
resultsWe detected T. cruzi in all host species in all study areas in New Orleans, but not in Baton Rouge. Though overall infection prevalence was 11%, it varied by study area and trapping site. There was no difference in prevalence by species, but roof rats exhibited the broadest geographical distribution of infection across the city. Infected rodents were trapped in densely populated neighborhoods like the French Quarter. Infection prevalence seasonally varied with abandonment, increasing with greater abandonment during the summer and declining with greater abandonment during the winter.
conclusionsOur findings illustrate that T. cruzi can be widespread in urban landscapes, suggesting that transmission and disease risk is greater than is currently recognized. Our findings also suggest that there is disproportionate risk of transmission in historically underserved communities, which could reinforce long-standing socioecological disparities in New Orleans and elsewhere.
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