Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Establishment of Larval Zebrafish as an Animal Model to Investigate Trypanosoma cruzi Motility In Vivo
Published on: September 30, 2017
Sexual transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in murine model
Marcelle Ribeiro1, Nadjar Nitz1, Camilla Santana1
1Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Biosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brasilia, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, Federal District 70.910-900, Brazil.
Abstract:
Trypanosoma cruzi is mainly transmitted by blood-sucking triatomines, but other routes also have epidemiological importance, such as blood transfusion and congenital transmission. Although the possibility of sexual transmission of T. cruzi has been suggested since its discovery, few studies have been published on this subject. We investigated acquisition of T. cruzi by sexual intercourse in an experimental murine model. Male and female mice in the chronic phase of Chagas disease were mated with naive partners. Parasitological, serological and molecular tests demonstrated the parasites in tissues and blood of partners. These results confirm the sexual transmission of T. cruzi in mice.

