ASSESSMENT OF TRYPANOSOMA CRUZI INFECTION STATUS IN WHITE-EARED OPOSSUMS (DIDELPHIS ALBIVENTRIS) OF THE METROPOLITAN AREA OF MENDOZA, ARGENTINA

Abstract

Marsupials of the genus Didelphis are important wild hosts of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. They exhibit infection patterns influenced by parasite lineage, as well as distinctive immune responses. We herein assessed the infection status of white-eared opossums (Didelphis albiventris) in the Metropolitan Area of Mendoza (MAM), Argentina, by integrating parasitologic data and serologic responses to T. cruzi antigens (crude homogenates and recombinant proteins) with physiologic and ecologic parameters of the animals. We captured 33 opossums between 2018 and 2021. High infection rates were detected, with 64% (21/33) seropositive by homogenate-based ELISA and 48% (10/21) positivity by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Parasite loads ranged from