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. 2019 Jun 25;12(1):322.
doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3572-y.

High prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in shelter dogs from southern Louisiana, USA

Ardem Elmayan  1   2 , Weihong Tu  1   2 , Brandy Duhon  3 , Preston Marx  1   4 , Wendy Wolfson  3 , Gary Balsamo  5 , Claudia Herrera  1   2 , Eric Dumonteil  6   7
Affiliations

High prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in shelter dogs from southern Louisiana, USA

Ardem Elmayan et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: Chagas disease is a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. The role of dogs as sentinels has been proposed in multiple regions, as they are a domestic reservoir for T. cruzi. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of T. cruzi infection in shelter dogs from southern Louisiana, and assess its magnitude and distribution.

Results: A total of 540 dogs were enrolled, from 20 animal shelters, and tested for T. cruzi infection by serological tests (rapid test, ELISA and western blot) and PCR. We documented a high prevalence of T. cruzi infection with at least 6.9% (95% CI: 5.0-9.3%) seropositive and 15.7% (95% CI: 12.9-19.1%) PCR-positive dogs. Serological tests showed limited agreement, and concordance between serology and PCR was higher when considering reactivity to single serological tests. Trypanosoma cruzi infection was distributed evenly among shelters. Infection was significantly correlated with age (R2 = 0.99), indicating an incidence of new cases of 2.27 ± 0.25% per year.

Conclusion: Trypanosoma cruzi infection is a significant and widespread veterinary problem in shelter dogs in the region, although it is mostly unnoticed by health professionals. This highlights the need for greater awareness of T. cruzi infection among the veterinary community and dog owners.

Keywords: American trypanosomiasis; Canine; Chagas disease; Heart disease; Parasite.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of T. cruzi infection in animal shelters across Louisiana. Insert map: Distribution of Lousiana parishes included in the study. Main map: Distribution of T. cruzi seroprevalence in shelter dogs. Pie charts indicate the percentage of seropositive dogs (shown in red) and the size of each chart is proportional to the sample size for the corresponding parish. Background map shows Louisiana parish boundaries and EPA ecoregions (color coded)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Western blot analysis of antigenic recognition patterns of dog serum. Representative individual dog serums (Lanes 1–21) were tested for T. cruzi protein recognition. Positive (+) or negative (−) reactivity is indicated at the bottom of each lane. Note that some dogs showed a very similar band recognition pattern (Lanes 5–8 and 10), but serum from most seropositive dogs recognized widely different parasite antigen patterns (Lanes 12, 14 and 16–21)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Trypanosoma cruzi seropositivity in shelter dogs as a function of age. Seroprevalence is shown as the mean ± 95% CI. Seroprevalence increased with dog age according to: Seroprevalence = 2.19 + 11.35*log(Dog age) (R2 = 0.99, P = 0.001)
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