Epidemiological Survey of Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in Domestic Owned Cats from the Tropical Southeast of Mexico

Abstract

American trypanosomiasis is an infectious disease of importance for public health and caused by the protozoa Trypanosoma cruzi mainly transmitted by triatomine bugs. The precise role of cats in the peridomestic transmission of T. cruzi and the mechanism by which cats become infected remain uncertain. The objective of this work was to determine the prevalence of T. cruzi infection in domestic cats from an urban area of tropical Mexico by serological and molecular methods and evaluate associated risk factors. A total of 220 domestic cats from Merida Yucatan, Mexico, were studied. Animals older than 3 months were blood sampled. Serum and DNA were obtained. Specific T. cruzi IgG antibodies were detected using a commercial indirect ELISA with an anti-cat antibody HRP labelled. Positive cases were confirmed by Western blot (WB). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was also performed using the primers TC1 and TC2. From the 220 cats, 8.6% had antibodies against T. cruzi using ELISA test and later confirmed by WB. In 75 cats (34%), the sequence of ADNk of T. cruzi was amplified. The bad-regular body condition was the only risk factor associated with PCR positive to T.cruzi (P < 0.001). In Mexico, there are no previous epidemiological reports that demonstrate the importance of the cat as a reservoir of T. cruzi. Few individuals were identified with a serological response because they were probably at an early stage of infection or antibodies were not detected because they could be immunocompromised (FIV, FeLV or others). It is necessary to monitor PCR-positive patients and conduct further studies for better understanding of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of Chagas disease in domestic cats.