Some effects of acute and chronic infection with Chagas disease in pregnant Wistar (Rodentia; Muridae) rats

[摘要] Objectives:genetically characterize a strain of Trypanosoma cruzi isolated in thestate of Chiapas, Mexico, and evaluate its effect on gestation in Wistar rats. Methods:evaluation was conducted of the damage caused to gestation in Wistar rats infectedwith the strain ITR/MX/10/COP of T. cruzi, the causal agent ofChagas disease. Two groups of ten female rats were infected intraperitoneallywith 1 x 106 blood trypomastigotes. One group was mated 19 days postinfection(acute stage) and the other 59 days postinfection (chronic stage). Ten non-infectedmated rats were used as control. Before the end of gestation, the rats weresacrificed to estimate the number, weight and length of fetuses, as well asplacenta and umbilical cord measurements.Results:fetuses from the groups infected with T. cruzi showed a significant decreasein number, weight and length (p< 0.05), while placenta and umbilical cordmeasurements were lower in the experimental groups (p< 0.05), but no significantdifferences were found between the groups.Conclusions:acute and chronic infection by T. cruzi in a region of Chiapas, Mexico,characterized as Tcl, may cause considerable damage during gestation.

[学科分类] 传染病学