Effect of vector on infectivity of Trypanosoma cruzi

A comparative study was carried out on the interaction between Triatoma infestans and bloodstream forms (BSF) of Trypanosoma cruzi isolates RA and UP, both lethal for mouse, and CA-I nonlethal for this host. Parasite duplication was readily detected in triatomes fed with CA-I, metacyclic (Mtc) differentiation reaching a maximum at an optimum ingestion level of 250 BSF/insect. Progress and differentiation proved much lower for RA, but reached intermediate values for the UP isolate. Assays for infectivity for each isolate after bug passage revealed a drop for the RA and UP, whereas for CA-I an increase was observed indicating that virulence of BSF and Mtc differs. Our results suggest that parasite selection by insect passage modulates infectivity of a given parasite population; however, virulence was independent of the absolute number of Mtc in the insect's feces.