Resumen

CALDERON ARGUEDAS, OLGER; TROYO, ADRIANA  y  CHINCHILLA, MISAEL. Trypanosoma cruzi (KINETOPLASTIDA: TRYPANOSOMATIDAE) NATURAL INFECTION IN Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus FROM COSTA RICA. Parasitol. latinoam. [online]. 2004, vol.59, n.1-2, pp. 65-67. ISSN 0717-7712.  doi: 10.4067/S0717-77122004000100013.

An adult female of Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus was collected in "Manuel Antonio" National Park (Puntarenas, Costa Rica). The microscopic analysis of the insect intestinal content showed the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigote and metacyclic triposmatigote forms. The characteristic T. cruzi blood tripomastigotes were observed in C₃H mice 12 days after their intra peritoneal inoculation with the insect gut material. This is the first report in the biomedical literature of Costa Rica about the presence of T. cruzi in this Chagas` disease vector

Palabras clave : Pantrongylus rufotuberculatus; Reduviid; Triatominae; Trypanosoma cruzi, Chagas` disease; Costa Rica.