ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2022
Identification of the parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, in multiple tissues of epidemiological significance in the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana): Implications for environmental and vertical transmission routes.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review of Zoonotic Enteric Parasites in Synanthropic Mammalian Species in Florida.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Pooled it
- Genetic variability withinResearch square · 2026Article
- Chagas disease in Florida: An emerging one health challenge in the United States.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- Animal Models for Studying Trypanosoma cruzi Congenital Transmission and Associated Pathogenesis: Special Emphasis on Guinea Pig Model.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Chagas Disease, an Endemic Disease in the United States.Emerging infectious diseases · 2025Review
- Field evidence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection, diverse host use and invasion of human dwellings by the Chagas disease vector in Florida, USA.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Article
- 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
- Presence of Trypanosoma cruzi (TcI) in different tissues of Didelphis virginiana from the metropolitan area of Merida, southeastern Mexico: Epidemiological relevance and implications for non-vector transmission routes.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Exploring Trypanosoma cruzi transmission dynamics in an acute Chagas disease outbreak using next-generation sequencing.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Genetic Diversity ofLife (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- First record of Trypanosoma (Ornithotrypanum) infecting Neotropical birds.Parasitology research · 2024Article
- Oral Chagas Disease in Colombia-Confirmed and Suspected Routes of Transmission.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2024Review
- Article
- Role of a 49 kDaPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Integrated pest management strategies targeting the Florida kissing bug,Current research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2023Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTrypanosoma cruzi, a parasitic protozoan, is endemic to the Americas and the causative agent of Chagas disease in humans. In South America, opossums facilitate transmission via infected anal gland secretions in addition to transmission via triatomine vectors. In North America, the Virginia opossum is a reservoir host for the parasite with transmission routes that are not clearly defined. The unique biology of this marsupial provides the opportunity to investigate vertical transmission in this wildlife species in situ. Our objectives were to investigate alternative routes of transmission that may facilitate spillover into other species and to determine if vertical transmission was evident. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsVirginia opossums were sampled at 10 trapping locations over a 10-month period in a 5-county region of north central Florida. Peripheral blood, fecal swabs, and anal gland secretions were collected from each adult individual, and peripheral blood was collected from joey opossums. Total DNA was extracted from each collected sample type, and T. cruzi infected individuals and the infecting Discrete Typing Unit (DTU) were identified using real time PCR methods. Adult Virginia opossums (n = 112) were infected with T. cruzi (51.8%, 95% CI [42.6-60.8%]) throughout the sampled period and at each location. T. cruzi DNA was found in each of the three biological sample types. Vertical transmission of T. cruzi was inferred in one litter of mother-dependent (n = 20, 5.0%, 95% CI [0.9-23.6%]) joey opossums where 2 joeys from this same litter were rtPCR positive for T. cruzi. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We inferred vertical transmission from mother to neonate which may serve to amplify the prevalence of T. cruzi in adult Virginia opossums. T. cruzi DNA was detected in the anal gland secretions of Virginia opossums. Infected anal gland secretions suggest a possible environmental route of transmission for T. cruzi via the deposition of contaminated feces and spraint at wildlife latrines. Only DTU1 was identified in the sampled population which is consistent with human autochthonous cases in the United States.
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