in Domestic Triatoma dimidiata from Guatemala

Abstract. The agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, is phylogenetically divided into two lineages, T. cruzi I (TCI) and II (TCII). TCI is found in sylvatic and domestic habitats across South America. Despite a high prevalence of TCII in domestic habitats in South America, it has been rarely found in domestic habitats in Central America and Mexico. This may be caused by limitations in detection tests previously used. A modified hemi-nested polymerase chain reaction assay was developed to improve detection of TCI and TCII mini-exon genes. This method detected TCI and II concurrently in 84 % of 44 cultured isolates from Triatoma dimidiata specimens collected inside homes across the disease-endemic area in Guatemala. Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease, is divided into two genetically and biologically distinct lineages, T. cruzi I (TCI) and T. cruzi II (TCII). 1–6 TCII is subdivided into five discrete typing units, IIa–e. 7,8 TCIIa and IIc were derived from an ancestral hybridization between TCI and TCIIb. TCIId and TCIIe were derived from a hybridization between TCIIb and TCIIc. 9 TCI is associated with sylvatic and domestic environ-ments across South America, having a strong associatio