Trypanosoma cruzi Flashcards
Classification
Protozoan - flagellate
Indirect or direct
Hosts
Indirect life cycle
Kissing bug is intermediate host
Human is intermediate host
Other animals are reservoirs
Transmission and life cycle
Infected kissing bug bites human and releases feces with trypomastigotes near the wound. Trypomastigotes enter the wound.
The trypomastigotes invade cells and transform into amastigotes and replicate by binary fission. They transform into trypomastigotes again and these invade other cells. And again transform into amastigotes and replicate etc…
The kissing bug becomes infected when taking a blood meal and ingesting circulating trypomastigotes.
In the kissing bug’s midgut, the trypomastigotes transform into epimastigotes and replicate and transform into metacyclic trypomastigotes.
Other less common routes of transmission ar blood transfusion, organ transplantation, trans-placentally or food borne.
T.cruzi causes chagas disease
Diagnosis
In acute phase when parasitemia is high > trypomastigotes can be detected in the blood or spinal fluid.
In chronic phase when parasitemia is low (chagas disease) > serology testing (ELISA)
Molecular:
PCR
