Microencapsulation of a Native Strain of the Entomopathogenic Fungus and Bioinsecticide Activity against Pyrethroid-Resistant to Vector Control of Chagas Disease in the Argentine Gran Chaco Region.

The blood-sucking bug is the main Chagas disease vector in the Southern Cone of Latin America. Populations resistant to pyrethroid insecticides have been detected in the early 2000s and then expanded to the endemic area of northern Salta province, Argentina. In this context, the entomopathogenic fungus has been shown to be pathogenic to pyrethroid-resistant .

Isolation of from the Chagas Disease Vector in the Gran Chaco Region of Argentina: Assessment of Gene Expression during Host-Pathogen Interaction.

A native strain of the entomopathogenic fungus (Bb-C001) was isolated from a naturally infected , Klug (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) adult cadaver in the Gran Chaco region, Salta province, Argentina. The isolate was both phenotypic and molecularly characterized in a context of fungus-insect interaction, by measuring the expression pattern of toxin genes during infection and immune response of . The commercial strain GHA of , which was previously used in field interventions to control these vectors, was used as reference in this study.

Hydroxymethylnitrofurazone is active in a murine model of Chagas' disease.

The addition of a hydroxymethyl group to the antimicrobial drug nitrofurazone generated hydroxymethylnitrofurazone (NFOH), which had reduced toxicity when its activity against Trypanosoma cruzi was tested in a murine model of Chagas' disease. Four groups of 12 Swiss female mice each received 150 mg of body weight/kg/day of NFOH, 150 mg/kg/day of nitrofurazone (parental compound), 60 mg/kg/day of benznidazole (BZL), or the solvent as a placebo. Treatments were administered orally once a day 6 days a week until the completion of 60 doses.

Chagas disease in rural areas of Chaco Province, Argentina: epidemiologic survey in humans, reservoirs, and vectors.

We studied the seroprevalence of antibodies against Trypanosoma cruzi in the human population along with domiciliary infestation by triatomine bugs in an area endemic for Chagas disease in the Chaco Province of Argentina. In addition, we carried out parasitologic surveys in patients, dogs, wild mammals, and vectors. The mean seroprevalence in humans was 27.