Supervivencia de epimastigotes de Trypanosoma cruzi en bebidas humanas contaminadas experimentalmente

Rev. Vet. 32: 2, 234-237, 2021. Acute cases of Chagas disease associated with active or sporadic foci have been reported in the Amazon basin of Peru, of which two cases have been epidemiologically linked to the consumption of “masato”, considering a possible oral transmission. The objective of this article is to evaluate the survival of epimastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi in three experimentally contaminated beverages, which are frequently consumed in the Peruvian Amazon. In vitro tests were carried out using an ELISA plate, between 100 and 200 pl of the filtrate of each drink were placed in each well: “chapo de Maduro” prepared from cooked ripe banana, “aguajina” based on aguaje fruit and “masato” fermented drink based on cooked cassava. The juices were previously prepared (crushed, cooked or filtered). To each well with the drink, 50 pl of the T. cruzi epimastigote culture, maintained for 7 days in diphasic medium (blood agar), was added. The reading was made at 1, 3 and 96 h after the experimental contamination. Survival was determined by the absence of movement of the parasites on direct examination. Survival of T. cruzi epimastigotes in “masato” was 1 h, “aguajina” 3 h, and “chapo de mature” 96 h, the latter could be a potential vehicle for oral transmission of Chagas disease in the Peruvian Amazon.