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pubmed:abstractText |
Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, is widespread in the southern United States. In addition to detection in numerous wildlife host species, cases have been diagnosed in domestic dogs and humans. In the current investigation, groups of laboratory mice [Crl:CD1 (ICR)] were inoculated with one of 18 United States T. cruzi isolates obtained from a wide host range to elucidate their infectivity, pathogenicity, and virulence. In addition, laboratory rats (SD strain) were inoculated with four isolates. Mice and rats were susceptible to infection with all strains, but no morbidity or mortality was noted, which indicates that these T. cruzi isolates from the United States had low virulence for laboratory mice and rats.
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pubmed:affiliation |
Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, and D. B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA. droellig@uga.edu
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