Results of the experimental infection of Calomys callosus (Rodentia) with human strains of Trypanosoma cruzi

Abstract

An albino "swiss" strain of Mus musculus was used for comparison purposes with regard to the following parameters: parasitemia, prepatent period, patency of the infection and lethality. Histopathological studies were carried out with the aim of observing the tissue tropism and aggressiveness of T. cruzi against C. callosus. The experiments showed that the evolution of the infection in C. callosus was different according to the two T. cruzi strains utilized. They strain produced higher parasitemia than the Berenice strain. The prepatent period varied as a result of the inocula being shorter in the animals inoculated with the strain Y (2, 2-3, 2 days) than in those infected with the Berenice strain (3, 2-7, 0 days). Although both strains were shown to be myotropic, the tissue alterations were more pronounced in the animals inoculated with the Y strain. Results indicated the possibility that C. callosus may be used as experimental animals for T. cruzi infection.