Can sexual transmission support the enzootic cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi?

Background: Trypanosoma cruzi circulates in sylvatic habitats, mainly through blood-feeding triatomines, although other routes also contribute to its dispersion. Sexual transmission of T. cruzi is an understudied topic, especially among wild mammals.

Sexual transmission of American trypanosomiasis in humans: a new potential pandemic route for Chagas parasites.

Background: The Trypanosoma cruzi infection endemic in Latin America has now spread to several countries across four continents; this endemic involves triatomine vector-free protists. We hypothesised that the sexual transmission of T. cruzi contributes to the ongoing spread of Chagas disease.

Inhibition of autoimmune Chagas-like heart disease by bone marrow transplantation.

Background: Infection with the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi manifests in mammals as Chagas heart disease. The treatment available for chagasic cardiomyopathy is unsatisfactory.

Methods/principal Findings: To study the disease pathology and its inhibition, we employed a syngeneic chicken model refractory to T.

Trypanosoma cruzi in the chicken model: Chagas-like heart disease in the absence of parasitism.

Background: The administration of anti-trypanosome nitroderivatives curtails Trypanosoma cruzi infection in Chagas disease patients, but does not prevent destructive lesions in the heart. This observation suggests that an effective treatment for the disease requires understanding its pathogenesis.

Methodology/principal Findings: To understand the origin of clinical manifestations of the heart disease we used a chicken model system in which infection can be initiated in the egg, but parasite persistence is precluded.