ArticleParasites & vectors2022
Over-dispersed Trypanosoma cruzi parasite load in sylvatic and domestic mammals and humans from northeastern Argentina.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Integrating infection intensity and aggregation into the dynamics of pathogens with within-host replication.The Journal of animal ecology · 2026Article
- Impact of the intensity of infection in birds on Plasmodium development within Culex pipiens mosquitoes.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- Animal models for exploring Chagas disease pathogenesis and supporting drug discovery.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Review
- Humans seropositive for Trypanosoma cruzi co-infected with intestinal helminths have higher infectiousness, parasitaemia and Th2-type response in the Argentine Chaco.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Article
- High Trypanosoma cruzi prevalence in armadillo (Zaedyus pichiy; Xenarthra: Chlamyphoridae) populations from Mendoza, Argentina.Parasitology research · 2023Article
- Geographic Distribution of the GenusTropical medicine and infectious disease · 2023Article
- Trypanosoma cruzi parasitemia in chronic Chagas disease: Insights from hierarchical modeling.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe distribution of parasite load across hosts may modify the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. Chagas disease is caused by a multi-host protozoan, Trypanosoma cruzi, but the association between host parasitemia and infectiousness to the vector has not been studied in sylvatic mammalian hosts. We quantified T. cruzi parasite load in sylvatic mammals, modeled the association of the parasite load with infectiousness to the vector and compared these results with previous ones for local domestic hosts.
methodsThe bloodstream parasite load in each of 28 naturally infected sylvatic mammals from six species captured in northern Argentina was assessed by quantitative PCR, and its association with infectiousness to the triatomine Triatoma infestans was evaluated, as determined by natural or artificial xenodiagnosis. These results were compared with our previous results for 88 humans, 70 dogs and 13 cats, and the degree of parasite over-dispersion was quantified and non-linear models fitted to data on host infectiousness and bloodstream parasite load.
resultsThe parasite loads of Didelphis albiventris (white-eared opossum) and Dasypus novemcinctus (nine-banded armadillo) were directly and significantly associated with infectiousness of the host and were up to 190-fold higher than those in domestic hosts. Parasite load was aggregated across host species, as measured by the negative binomial parameter, k, and found to be substantially higher in white-eared opossums, cats, dogs and nine-banded armadillos (range: k = 0.3-0.5) than in humans (k = 5.1). The distribution of bloodstream parasite load closely followed the "80-20 rule" in every host species examined. However, the 20% of human hosts, domestic mammals or sylvatic mammals exhibiting the highest parasite load accounted for 49, 25 and 33% of the infected triatomines, respectively.
conclusionsOur results support the use of bloodstream parasite load as a proxy of reservoir host competence and individual transmissibility. The over-dispersed distribution of T. cruzi bloodstream load implies the existence of a fraction of highly infectious hosts that could be targeted to improve vector-borne transmission control efforts toward interruption transmission. Combined strategies that decrease the parasitemia and/or host-vector contact with these hosts would disproportionally contribute to T. cruzi transmission control.
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