Article Category:
Short Report

An Outbreak of Acute Chagas Disease Possibly Spread through Oral Transmission Involving Animal Reservoirs in Eastern Colombia

Stivenn A. Gutiérrez Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia;

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Jeiczon Jaimes-Dueñez Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia;
Grupo de Investigación en Ciencias Animales, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Bucaramanga, Colombia;

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Lissa Cruz-Saavedra Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia;

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Carolina Hernández Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia;
Centro de Tecnología en Salud, Innovaseq SAS, Bogota, Colombia;

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Omar Cantillo-Barraza Grupo BCEI, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia;

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Francisco Álvarez Programa de Control de ETV, Secretaría de Salud de Boyacá, Tunja, Colombia;

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María Blanco Secretaría Departamental de Salud de Arauca, Arauca, Colombia;

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Bernardo Leal Programa de Control de ETV, Secretaría de Salud de Boyacá, Tunja, Colombia;

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Lida Martínez Grupo de Vigilancia en Salud Pública, Secretaría de Salud de Boyacá, Colombia;

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Manuel Medina Programa de Control de ETV, Secretaría de Salud de Boyacá, Tunja, Colombia;

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Mabel Medina Programa de Control de ETV, Secretaría de Salud de Boyacá, Tunja, Colombia;

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Silvia Valdivieso Secretaría Departamental de Salud de Arauca, Arauca, Colombia;

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Juan David Ramírez Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia;
Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.23-0380
Volume/Issue:
Ahead of Print
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Chagas disease (CD) is a parasitic infection caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Reports of CD cases associated with oral transmission have increased, particularly in Colombia, Brazil, and Venezuela. In this investigation, parasitological, serological, and molecular tests were conducted on samples obtained from humans, mammal reservoirs, and hosts involved in the assessment of a suspected oral transmission outbreak in Cubara, Boyaca, Colombia. Seropositivity was observed in 60% (3 of 5) of index patients and 6.4% (5 of 78) of close contacts. Trypanosoma cruzi DNA was detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction in 100% of index cases, 6.4% (5 of 78) of close contacts, 60% (6 of 10) of canines, and 100% (5 of 5) of opossums. In all index cases, the TcI lineage was identified, along with two cases of mixed infection (TcI/TcII–TcVI). Hemoculture revealed a flagellate presence in 80% of opossums, whereas all triatomine bugs tested negative. Our findings suggest a potential oral transmission route through contamination with opossum secretions.

Author Notes

Financial support: This work was funded by the Direccion de Investigacion e Innovacion from Universidad del Rosario.

Authors’ addresses: Stivenn A. Gutiérrez and Lissa Cruz-Saavedra, Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia, E-mails: stivenn.gutierrez@urosario.edu.co and lissa9115@gmail.co. Jeiczon Jaimes-Dueñez, Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia, and Grupo de Investigación en Ciencias Animales, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Bucaramanga, Colombia, E-mail: jeiczon.jaimes@campusucc.edu.co. Carolina Hernández, Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia, and Centro de Tecnología en Salud, Innovaseq SAS, Bogota, Colombia, E-mail: dcahernandezc@gmail.com. Omar Cantillo-Barraza, Grupo BCEI, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia, E-mail: omarcantillo@gmail.com. Francisco Álvarez, Bernardo Leal, Manuel Medina, and Mabel Medina, Programa de Control de ETV, Secretaría de Salud de Boyacá, Tunja, Colombia, E-mails: mano.franciscoalvarezo@gmail.com, berleal9@hotmail.com, medica349@gmail.com, and mabel.medina@boyaca.gov.co. María Blanco and Silvia Valdivieso, Secretaría Departamental de Salud de Arauca, Arauca, Colombia, E-mails: miblancon@gmail.com and silviajulianavaldivieso@gmail.com. Lida Martínez, Grupo de Vigilancia en Salud Pública, Secretaría de Salud de Boyacá, Colombia, E-mail: lidamusdie@gmail.com. Juan David Ramírez, Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia, and Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, E-mail: juand.ramirez@urosario.edu.co.

Address correspondence to Juan David Ramírez, Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia. E-mail: juand.ramirez@urosario.edu.co or juan.ramirezgonzalez@mountsinai.org
Copyright:
© American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2023
Received:
08 Jun 2023
|
Accepted:
13 Jul 2023
|
Published Online:
13 Nov 2023
Cover The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Print ISSN:
0002-9637
Online ISSN:
1476-1645
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