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. 2025 Apr 14:27:101072.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2025.101072. eCollection 2025 Aug.

Molecular diagnosis of trypanosomatids in Didelphis marsupialis reveals risk areas for Trypanosoma cruzi transmission and sympatric circulation with T. rangeli in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia

Jeiczon Elim Jaimes-Dueñez  1 , Vladimir Quintero-Sánchez  1 , Andrea Ardila-Gélvez  1 , Luz H Patiño  2 , Carlos M Ospina  2 , Ángela Patricia Jiménez-Leaño  1 , Ian Sebastián Murcia-Cueto  1 , Juan David Ramírez  2   3
Affiliations

Molecular diagnosis of trypanosomatids in Didelphis marsupialis reveals risk areas for Trypanosoma cruzi transmission and sympatric circulation with T. rangeli in the metropolitan area of Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia

Jeiczon Elim Jaimes-Dueñez et al. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. .

Abstract

The adaptation of wild animals to urban environments can lead to increased contact with humans and a higher risk of exposure to zoonotic agents. Didelphis marsupialis (common opossum) is an important reservoir of Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp., which commonly affect human populations in Latin America. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the frequency of trypanosomatid infections and characterize T. cruzi DTUs in common opossums from the Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga (MAB), Santander, Colombia. A total of 70 individuals from four municipalities (Bucaramanga, Floridablanca, Girón, and Piedecuesta) were analyzed by PCR using blood samples, of which 14.3 % (95 % CI: 7.95-24.3 %) tested positive for trypanosomatids. Next-generation sequencing of 18S and Hsp70 genes in positive samples identified T. cruzi DTU TcI and T. rangeli in nine (12.9 %, 95 % CI: 6.91-22.66 %) and two (2.86 %, 95 % CI: 0.79-9.83 %) samples, respectively, including one case of co-infection (1.43 %, 95 % CI: 0.04-7.7 %). A heatmap revealed a high concentration of T. cruzi-positive cases in peripheral neighborhoods of Bucaramanga adjacent to forested areas. This study confirms the presence of an enzootic transmission cycle of T. cruzi in the MAB, highlighting the role of D. marsupialis as an important reservoir, particularly in peripheral neighborhoods of Bucaramanga. The sympatric circulation of T. cruzi and T. rangeli in opossums from the MAB introduces new epidemiological challenges for Chagas disease control in these areas, emphasizing the need for improved diagnostic strategies to differentiate both parasites in patients and epidemiological studies including vectors and reservoirs.

Keywords: Chagas diseases; Coinfection; Leishmaniasis; Next-generation sequencing; Reservoir.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author is an Editorial Board Member/Editor-in-Chief/Associate Editor/Guest Editor for [International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife] and was not involved in the editorial review or the decision to publish this article. The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Jeiczon Elim Jaimes-Dueñez, Vladimir Quintero-Sánchez, Andrea Ardila-Gélvez, Luz H. Patiño, Carlos M Ospina, Ángela Patricia Jiménez-Leaño, Ian Sebastián Murcia-Cueto, Juan David Ramírez.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Heatmaps of trypanosomatid infections in Didelphis marsupialis from the Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga, Santander. (A) Map of Colombia showing the Santander department (green) and Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga (red). (B) Geographic locations where specimens of Didelphis marsupialis were rescued. Gray points represent individuals negative for infection, while red and yellow points indicate individuals positive for T. cruzi and T. rangeli, respectively. (C) Geographic distribution of individuals positive for T. cruzi. (D) Geographic distribution of individuals positive for T. rangeli. (E) Overlay of individuals positive for T. cruzi and T. rangeli.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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