Rachel Busselman


Curriculum vitae



Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Texas A&M University

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
School of Veterinary Medicine
Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences



High incidence of Trypanosoma cruzi infections in dogs directly detected through longitudinal tracking at 10 multi-dog kennels, Texas, USA


Journal article


Rachel E. Busselman, Alyssa C. Meyers, Italo B Zecca, L. Auckland, Andres H Castro, Rebecca E Dowd, R. Curtis-Robles, C. Hodo, A. Saunders, S. Hamer
PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2021

Semantic Scholar DOI PubMedCentral PubMed
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Cite

APA   Click to copy
Busselman, R. E., Meyers, A. C., Zecca, I. B., Auckland, L., Castro, A. H., Dowd, R. E., … Hamer, S. (2021). High incidence of Trypanosoma cruzi infections in dogs directly detected through longitudinal tracking at 10 multi-dog kennels, Texas, USA. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.


Chicago/Turabian   Click to copy
Busselman, Rachel E., Alyssa C. Meyers, Italo B Zecca, L. Auckland, Andres H Castro, Rebecca E Dowd, R. Curtis-Robles, C. Hodo, A. Saunders, and S. Hamer. “High Incidence of Trypanosoma Cruzi Infections in Dogs Directly Detected through Longitudinal Tracking at 10 Multi-Dog Kennels, Texas, USA.” PLoS neglected tropical diseases (2021).


MLA   Click to copy
Busselman, Rachel E., et al. “High Incidence of Trypanosoma Cruzi Infections in Dogs Directly Detected through Longitudinal Tracking at 10 Multi-Dog Kennels, Texas, USA.” PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2021.


BibTeX   Click to copy

@article{rachel2021a,
  title = {High incidence of Trypanosoma cruzi infections in dogs directly detected through longitudinal tracking at 10 multi-dog kennels, Texas, USA},
  year = {2021},
  journal = {PLoS neglected tropical diseases},
  author = {Busselman, Rachel E. and Meyers, Alyssa C. and Zecca, Italo B and Auckland, L. and Castro, Andres H and Dowd, Rebecca E and Curtis-Robles, R. and Hodo, C. and Saunders, A. and Hamer, S.}
}

Abstract

Canine Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is increasingly recognized as a health concern for dogs in the USA, and infected dogs may signal geographic regions of risk for human disease. Dogs living in multi-dog kennel environments (kennels with more than one dog) where triatomine vectors are endemic may be at high risk for infection. We monitored a cohort of 64 T. cruzi-infected and uninfected dogs across 10 kennels in Texas, USA, to characterize changes in infection status over one year. We used robust diagnostic criteria in which reactivity on multiple independent platforms was required to be considered positive. Among the 30 dogs enrolled as serologically- and/or PCR-positive, all but one dog showed sustained positive T. cruzi diagnostic results over time. Among the 34 dogs enrolled as serologically- and PCR-negative, 10 new T. cruzi infections were recorded over a 12-month period. The resulting incidence rate for dogs initially enrolled as T. cruzi-negative was 30.7 T. cruzi infections per 100 dogs per year. This study highlights the risk of T. cruzi infection to dogs in kennel environments. To protect both dog and human health, there is an urgent need to develop more integrated vector control methods as well as prophylactic and curative antiparasitic treatment options for T. cruzi infection in dogs.


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