Genetic Diversity of Trypanosoma cruzi in the United States of America

Chagas disease (CD), caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and endemic in Latin America, has become an emergent health problem in non-endemic countries due to human migration. The United States (US) is the non-Latin American country with the highest CD burden and cannot be considered as non-endemic, since tri...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Llovera, A., Abras, Alba|||0000-0003-2002-1186, Fernández-Arévalo, Anna|||0000-0003-4925-7184, Ballart, Cristina, Heras, S.|||0000-0002-9142-8760, Muñoz-Batet, Carmen|||0000-0002-4150-8834, Gállego Culleré, Montserrat|||0000-0002-8143-9773
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:308098
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/308098
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3390/life14070901
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:DTU
Trypanosoma cruzi
Discrete typing unit
Endemic country
Genetic diversity
Mammalian hosts
Molecular epidemiology
Triatomine vectors
Descripción
Sumario:Chagas disease (CD), caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and endemic in Latin America, has become an emergent health problem in non-endemic countries due to human migration. The United States (US) is the non-Latin American country with the highest CD burden and cannot be considered as non-endemic, since triatomine vectors and reservoir animals have been found. Populations of T. cruzi are divided into genetic subdivisions, which are known as discrete typing units (DTUs): TcI to TcVI and TcBat. Autochthonous human T. cruzi infection in the US is sporadic, but it may change due to environmental factors affecting the geographic distribution of triatomines. We aimed to perform a literature review of the genetic diversity of T. cruzi in triatomine vectors and mammalian hosts, including human cases, in the US. The 34 analyzed studies revealed the presence of T. cruzi in 18 states, which was mainly concentrated in Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico. TcI and TcIV were the principal DTUs identified, being TcI the most genotyped (42.4%; 917/2164). This study represents a first attempt to compile the molecular epidemiology of T. cruzi in the US, which is fundamental for predicting the progression of the infection in the country and could be of great help in its future management.