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- The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
- Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Volume 74, Issue 2, Feb 2006, p. 303 - 305
f IDENTIFICATION IN TRIATOMINE VECTORS OF FEEDING SOURCES AND TRYPANOSOMA CRUZI VARIANTS BY HETERODUPLEX ASSAY AND A MULTIPLEX MINIEXON POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION
Abstract
Feeding sources of triatomine vectors (Triatoma longipennis) collected in peridomiciles in Mexico were identified by a heteroduplex assay developed with triatomine blood meals. Trypanosoma cruzi parasites were also characterized in the same blood meal samples by multiplex-polymerase chain reaction assay of mini-exon gene inter-genic regions. The main blood meal source was from rats, but the bugs were able to feed on a wide variety of hosts, and human blood meals were identified. Trypanosoma cruzi was the only flagellate species identified in the blood meals. All populations belong to the T. cruzi I lineage, a result that is consistent with the previously assumed predominance of this lineage in Mexico. This combination of blood meal and T. cruzi lineage identification provides a powerful tool for understanding T. cruzi transmission cycles.
- 12 Jul 2005
- 05 Oct 2005