Chagas disease, caused by
Trypanosoma cruzi infection, is a zoonosis of humans, wild and domestic mammals,
including dogs. In Panama, the main
T. cruzi vector is
Rhodnius pallescens, a triatomine bug whose main natural
habitat is the royal palm,
Attalea butyracea
. In this paper, we present results from three
T. cruzi serological tests
(immunochromatographic dipstick, indirect immunofluorescence and ELISA) performed in 51 dogs from 24 houses
in Trinidad de Las Minas, western Panama. We found that nine dogs were seropositive (17.6% prevalence). Dogs
were 1.6 times more likely to become
T. cruzi seropositive with each year of age and 11.6 times if royal palms where
present in the peridomiciliary area of the dog’s household or its two nearest neighbours. Mouse-baited-adhesive
traps were employed to evaluate 12 peridomestic royal palms. All palms were found infested with
R. pallescens with
an average of 25.50 triatomines captured per palm. Of 35 adult bugs analysed, 88.6% showed protozoa flagellates in
their intestinal contents. In addition, dogs were five times more likely to be infected by the presence of an additional
domestic animal species in the dog’s peridomiciliary environment. Our results suggest that interventions focused on
royal palms might reduce the exposure to
T. cruzi infection.
