Abstract
Natural infection of captive nonhuman primates (NHPs) with Trypanosoma cruzi (agent of Chagas disease) is an increasingly recognized problem in facilities across the southern USA, with negative consequences for NHP health and biomedical research. We explored a central Texas NHP facility as a nidus of transmission by characterizing parasite discrete typing units (DTU) in seropositive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), identifying the wildlife reservoirs, and characterizing vector infection. In seropositive NHPs, we documented low and intermittent concentrations of circulating T. cruzi DNA, with two DTUs in equal proportions, TcI and TcIV. In contrast, consistently high concentrations of T. cruzi DNA were found in wild mesomammals at the facility, yet rodents were PCR-negative. Strong wildlife host associations were found in which raccoons (Procyon lotor) harbored TcIV and opossums (Didelphis virginiana) harbored TcI, while skunks (Mephitis mephitis) were infected with both DTUs. Active and passive vector surveillance yielded three species of triatomines from the facility and in proximity to the NHP enclosures, with 17% T. cruzi infection prevalence. Interventions to protect NHP and human health must focus on interrupting spillover from the robust sylvatic transmission in the surrounding environment.
Highlights
Trypanosoma cruzi, the zoonotic vector-borne agent of Chagas disease, is widespread throughout the Americas as far north as the southern USA, infecting over 200 species of mammals
The objectives of this study were to characterize the transmission cycles of T. cruzi at a nonhuman primates (NHPs) facility with approximately 4% seroprevalence in rhesus macaques by (1) determining the presence and discrete typing units (DTU) of T. cruzi DNA circulating in the blood of seropositive macaques; (2) identifying the local wildlife reservoirs that are most important in infecting vectors that may contact NHPs; and (3) documenting the presence and infection status of triatomine vectors
We found that the infected medium-sized wild mammals had concentrations of T. cruzi DNA circulating in their blood that were orders of magnitude higher than the NHPs (Fig. 3)
Summary
Trypanosoma cruzi, the zoonotic vector-borne agent of Chagas disease, is widespread throughout the Americas as far north as the southern USA, infecting over 200 species of mammals. Some free-ranging neotropical nonhuman primate (NHP) species are important sylvatic hosts of T. cruzi (Lisboa et al 2015; Jansen et al 2017), and natural infection is described in captive New and Old World NHPs in areas where vectors are found (Williams et al 2009; Bommineni et al 2009; Dorn et al 2012; Minuzzi-Souza et al 2016). Published surveys report infection prevalence ranging from 2 to 10% in NHP facilities in the southern USA (Kasa et al 1977; Dorn et al 2012; Pisharath et al 2013), and both DTUs TcI and TcIV have been documented (Roellig et al 2013). Because animals are often transported across the country from the South, T. cruzi infection is a concern in NHPs housed in nonendemic areas as well (Dickerson et al 2014)
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