Seropositivity for Trypanosoma Cruzi in Domestic Dogs from Sonora, Mexico Minerva Arce-Fonseca1, Silvia C
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Arce-Fonseca et al. Infectious Diseases of Poverty (2017) 6:120 DOI 10.1186/s40249-017-0333-z RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Seropositivity for Trypanosoma cruzi in domestic dogs from Sonora, Mexico Minerva Arce-Fonseca1, Silvia C. Carrillo-Sánchez1, Ramón M. Molina-Barrios2, Mariana Martínez-Cruz1, Jesús R. Cedillo-Cobián2, Yuly A. Henao-Díaz2 and Olivia Rodríguez-Morales1* Abstract Background: Chagas disease is an important health problem in Latin America due to its incapacitating effects and associated mortality. Studies on seropositivity for Trypanosoma cruzi in Mexican dogs have demonstrated a direct correlation between seropositivity in humans and dogs, which can act as sentinels for the disease in this region. The objective of this study was to determine the seropositivity for T.cruzi infection in dogs from Sonora, a northern borderstate of Mexico. Methods: Responsible pet owners were selected at random from an urban area of Empalme municipality, Sonora, Mexico, and from there, 180 dog samples were collected. Anti-T. cruzi antibodies were determined using the enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Reactive ELISA sera were processed by indirect immunofluorescence to confirm the presence of anti-T. cruzi antibodies. For the statistical analysis, chi-square tests were conducted. Results: Dogs’ sera showed a seropositivity rate of 4.44%. The rate of seropositivity was not associated with the dogs’ age, sex, or socioeconomics pertaining to the geographical area. One sample (1/180, 0.55%) showed the acute state of the disease. Conclusions: The study found a presence of anti-T. cruzi antibodies in dogs in this area, which suggests vector transmission. There is a need for active surveillance programs throughout the state of Sonora and vector control strategies should also be implemented in endemic regions. Keywords: Chagas disease, Epidemiology, Reservoir, US-Mexico border dogs, Trypanosoma cruzi,Mexico Background in the disease spreading to non-endemic areas, including Chagas disease (CD) is caused by the protozoan Trypano- Canada, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Although vector-borne soma cruzi. Because the parasite is distributed in areas transmission cannot occur outside of America (as the ranging from the southern United States [1] to Argentina vector is not present), the disease can spread via vertical and Chile, the disease is commonly known as American transmission, blood transfusions, and organ transplanta- trypanosomiasis. Epidemiological data from 2010 estimated tions in non-endemic countries [4–6]. that there were about 5,742,167 people infected in Latin In Mexico, there are no official programs for vector America and 70,199,360 at risk of acquiring infection. control. In addition, there is no consensus on diagnostic Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico were the three countries with methods for acute and chronic phases of CD, and trypano- the highest estimated number of infected people (1,505,235; cidal therapy is rarely administered to chronic patients 1,156,821; and 876,458, respectively) [2]. This disease has because the availability of trypanocidal drugs is restricted, been one of the biggest public health problems in Latin and physicians only treat the cardiac or digestive symp- America due to its incapacitating effects and associated toms, as they consider drugs are ineffective in this stage of mortality [3]. Increased international migration has resulted the disease and have undesirable side effects. The current prevalence of the disease is unknown because there are no * Correspondence: [email protected] official cases reported. However, based on the percentage 1Department of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Cardiology “Ignacio Chávez”, Juan Badiano No. 1, Col. Sección XVI, Delegación Tlalpan, 14080 of seropositivity published by Cruz-Reyes and Pickering- Mexico City, Mexico López in 2006 [7], and considering there are 112.3 million Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2017 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Arce-Fonseca et al. Infectious Diseases of Poverty (2017) 6:120 Page 2 of 7 inhabitants in Mexico (as according to the 2010 National T.cruzi-infected species, establishing them as potential vec- Population Census [8]), it is possible to estimate that 5.5 tors of CD [14]. Few national studies have estimated the million people are at risk of acquiring the T. cruzi infec- presence of T. cruzi in domestic reservoirs in Mexico. In the tion in the country [9]. state of Sonora, there are no reports about seropositivity for The transmission cycle includes mammalian reservoirs T. cruzi infection in dogs, despite having sufficient case of the parasite and triatomine species as vectors, which reports in other countries indicating that the presence of colonize domestic and peridomestic environments. Dogs this mammal in households can increase the human risk of are considered the most important domestic reservoir of contracting the disease by up to five times [15]. the parasite in the dynamics of T. cruzi infection because Studies describing the seropositivity rate in dogs in dogs are an important food source for triatomine bugs Mexico (see Table 1) have demonstrated a direct correl- and they can also eat infected insects. Thus, it has been ation with the presence of antibodies against T. cruzi in demonstrated that infected dogs increase the risk of trans- humans [10, 16-26]. The high seropositivity rate of T. mission inside human dwellings [10]. From the veterinary cruzi infection in dogs from different regions in the coun- point of view, it is also important to consider that dogs try suggests that dogs are a potential domestic reservoir are susceptible to acquire American trypanosomiasis char- and are thus potential perpetuators of the T. cruzi trans- acterized by heart conditions, such as electrical conduc- mission to humans. In Sonora, there is no information tion disturbances, and ventricular and supraventricular about prevention and control programs relating to CD, arrhythmias, as well as secondary signs such as ascites, re- despite it being an endemic area. This is largely because a spiratory distress, thoracic effusion, and cyanosis [11, 12]. lack of information and under-diagnosis overlaps the ac- It is believed that over 96% of CD transmission occurs tual incidence of the disease, which promotes the use of by the vector route [13]. Mexico has one of the most diagnostic tools in reservoirs in order to project the im- diverse populations of triatomine bugs, with 32 documented pact of the prevalence of infection on human population. Table 1 Seroepidemiology Against Trypanosoma cruzi in Mexican Dogs, 2001–2014 State (City or Municipality) Seroprevalence in dogs (%) Seroprevalence in humans (%) Methodology Reference Morelos (Cuernavaca) 8.8 ND ELISA [16] Puebla (Puebla) 24.2 ND Estado de México (Tlalnepantla) 1.2 ND ELISA [17] WB Puebla (Palmar del Bravo) 10.6 4 ELISA [18] IIF Estado de México 21 7.1 IHA [10] (Tejupilco and Toluca) 17.5 ND IIF ELISA Yucatán 9.8 ND IIF [19] (Tunkas and Mérida) 17.3 ND WB PCR Chiapas (Tuxtla Gutiérrez) 4.5 ND IIF [20] WB Yucatán (Mérida) 34 8 ELISA [21] IIF WB Campeche (Campeche) 7.6 0.1 ELISA [22] IIF WB Estado de México (Tejupilco) 24.5 ND IHA [23] ELISA Morelos (Puente Pantitlán) 24.2 1.2 ELISA [24] IIF Estado de México (Toluca) 0.34 ND IHA [25] ELISA Jalisco (Teocuitatlán) 8.1 ND ELISA [26] WB Sonora (Empalme) 4.44 ND ELISA This study IIF ND Not determined, ELISA Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, WB Western blot test, IIF Indirect immunofluorescence test, IHA Indirect hemagglutination test Arce-Fonseca et al. Infectious Diseases of Poverty (2017) 6:120 Page 3 of 7 This study sought to determine the presence of anti- Sampling was performed during the spring and summer bodies against T.cruzi in domestic dogs (Canis lupus months (May to August) in 2013. familiaris) in Sonora, Mexico. This is relevant as a public health issue because this study is the first report about Study population seropositivity in a major domestic reservoir of the disease Samples were collected from an urban area of the Empalme in a region which, despite being considered endemic, has municipality by selecting dogs at random, regardless of not seen any governmental actions for controlling and their overall health, age, breed, or sex. The only inclusion preventing the disease. Sonora is now added to the list of criteria were that they resided in the municipality and were states in Mexico (8 out of 32) that have had studies con- pets of responsible owners, defining them as people ducted on the seropositivity in dogs as the main domestic who fed their dogs and gave consent for their dogs to reservoir of CD. be sampled. The sample size was dictated by a specific statistics Methods formula for the detection of a disease in a population Study area and period of sampling with a confidence level of 95%. If in our sample size no The study was conducted in the Empalme municipality animal comes out positive it would mean that the popu- (110°48′51″ west latitude and 27°57′42″ north longitude), lation is free of the disease. Taking into account a 95% in the state of Sonora, Mexico (see Fig. 1). Empalme has confidence level, an estimated 1.5% of dogs with CD, an area of 503 km2, a height above sea level of 1 m, an and 800 responsible dog owners as the expected total average temperature ranging between 17 °C and 29 °C, population, the number of required samples was deter- and a population of 54,131 inhabitants in 2010, with an mined to be at least 169.