Trypanosomatid Richness in Wild and Synanthropic Small Mammals from a Biological Station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Alice Pereira Berbigier,
Juliana Helena da Silva Barros,
Edilene Sousa Pontes,
Cristiane Varella Lisboa,
Rosana Gentile,
Samanta Cristina das Chagas Xavier,
Ana Maria Jansen,
André Luiz Rodrigues Roque
Affiliations
Alice Pereira Berbigier
Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Juliana Helena da Silva Barros
Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Edilene Sousa Pontes
Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Cristiane Varella Lisboa
Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Rosana Gentile
Laboratório de Biologia e Parasitologia de Mamíferos Silvestres Reservatórios, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Samanta Cristina das Chagas Xavier
Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Ana Maria Jansen
Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
André Luiz Rodrigues Roque
Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Trypanosomatids are diverse and can infect several host species, including small mammals (rodents and marsupials). Between 2012 and 2014, 91 small mammals were surveyed for trypanosomatid infection in the Estação Biológica FIOCRUZ Mata Atlântica (EFMA), an Atlantic Forest area in Rio de Janeiro that presents different levels of conserved and degraded areas. Blood, skin, liver, and spleen samples were submitted to parasitological, serological, and molecular assays to detect the infection and determine the taxonomic status of their parasites. Sixty-eight individuals (74.7%; n = 91) were infected by trypanosomatids, including fourteen mixed infected by different trypanosomatid parasites. These hosts were infected by: T. cruzi DTU TcI (n = 12), T. cruzi DTU TcIV (n = 2), T. janseni (n = 15), T. dionisii (n = 1), and T. rangeli A (n = 1) detected in blood or tissue cultures, in addition to T. cruzi DTU TcI (n = 9) and Leishmania sp. (n = 1) only by the molecular diagnosis. Serological diagnosis was positive in 38 (71.6%) individuals for T. cruzi, the same amount for Leishmania spp., and 23 (43.3%) individuals were mixed infected. These data indicate a remarkable richness of trypanosomatid species/genotypes infecting small mammals, even in a disturbed area with low mammal species diversity—as is the case of the EFMA—reinforcing the generalist aspect of these parasites.