Trypanosoma cruzi

MICROBIOLOGY

• Trypanosoma cruzi, a hemoflagellate protozoan, causes American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease).
  • Transmission occurs when triatomine feces contaminate the bite site or mucosal surfaces (not via the bite itself).
    • Species Rhodnius or triatomine bug, [Fig 1].
  • Enzootic transmission occurs in the southern U.S., with infected triatomines and mammalian reservoirs (especially dogs and wildlife); autochthonous human cases are rare but increasingly recognized.
    • Texas is seeing the largest number of autochthonous human T. cruzi infections.
    • Risk factors included: rural residence, history of hunting or camping, and agricultural or outdoor work.
    • Canines are an important domestic reservoir and sentinel species; direct contribution to human transmission is inferred but not well quantified[3].
  • See the Life cycle.