Lizards as Silent Hosts of Trypanosoma cruzi

Abstract

We assessed 4 lizard species in Chile for Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, and 1 species for its ability to transmit the protozoan to uninfected kissing bugs. All lizard species were infected, and the tested species was capable of transmitting the protozoan, highlighting their role as T. cruzi reservoirs.

Keywords: American trypanosomiasis; Chagas disease; Chile; Trypanosoma cruzi; lizards; neglected diseases; reptiles; silent hosts; transmission; vector-borne infections; zoonoses.

Figure 1

Tissues/organs tested for Trypanosoma cruzi infection and their percentages of infection in Plate’s lizards (Liolaemus platei) in study of lizards as silent hosts of T. cruzi. Numbers in each bar indicate number of lizards from which a specific tissue/organ was extracted and tested.

Figure 2

Transmission cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi parasites in the arid‒semiarid Mediterranean ecosystem of South America. Solid lines indicate known T. cruzi transmission between mammal hosts and kissing bugs, and dashed lines indicate transmission between lizards (newly described hosts) and kissing bugs.