To verify the incidence of T. cruzi transmission through breastfeeding during acute experimental Chagas’ disease.
MethodsFifteen female Swiss mice were mated and, after pregnancy confirmation, placed in individual cages. A few hours after birth, the females were inoculated with 0.1mL of blood containing approximately 3 × 105 trypomastigote forms of Y strain of T. cruzi and continued breastfeeding for 25 days.
ResultsIn 142 offspring examined no infection through breastfeeding was observed.
ConclusionsThe low number of trypomastigote forms ingested by the newborn mice combined with biological and biochemical characteristics of blood trypomastigotes may explain the lack of transmission in this experiment.