Natural infection with Trypanosoma cruzi in bats captured in Campeche and Yucatán, México

Abstract

Introduction: Bats have been reported as hosts of the Trypanosoma cruzi protozoan, etiologic agent of the American trypanosomiasis, an endemic zoonotic disease in México. Objective: To describe the T. cruzi infection in bats from the states of Campeche and Yucatán, México. Materials and methods: Captures were made from March to November 2017 at three sites in Yucatán and one in Campeche. Up to four mist nets for the capture on two consecutive nights were used. The bats’ species were identified, and the euthanasia was performed to collect kidney and heart samples to be used in the total DNA extraction. The T. cruzi infection was detected by conventional PCR with the amplification of a fragment belonging to the T. cruzi DNA nuclear. Results: 86 bats belonging to five families (Vespertilionidae, Noctilionidae, Mormoopidae, Phyllostomidae, and Molossidae) and 13 species (Rhogeessa aeneus, Noctilio leporinus, Pteronotus davyi, P. parnellii, Artibeus jamaicensis, A. lituratus, A. phaeotis, Glossophaga soricina, Carollia sowelli, Chiroderma villosum, Uroderma bilobatum, Sturnira parvidens, and Molossus rufus) were captured. The PCR showed an infection frequency of 30,2 % (26/86), detected only in the renal tissue. The infected species were P. parnellii, G. soricina, A. lituratus, A. jamaicensis, S. parvidens, C. villosum, and R. aeneus. Conclusions: The results confirm the participation of several bats species as hosts in the T. cruzi transmission cycle in the region. Further studies are necessary to establish the importance of these animals in the zoonotic transmission of T. cruzi.