Abstract
SUMMARY: The relationship between forms of Trypanosoma cruzi from the faeces of Rhodnius prolixus and the infection they produced in the blood of mice was studied. The number of motile forms in the inoculum showed little relation to intensity of parasitaemia, length of prepatent period or mortality rate, but was clearly related to the cumulative mortality and to the ID50, which rose to a maximum at 6 weeks, remaining relatively constant thereafter. At some times amastigotes appeared to contribute to the infectivity. Subcutaneous inocula were more infective and more lethal than intraperitoneal. The appropriateness of different methods of assessing infectivity in protozoal infections is discussed.
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