CHARACTERIZATION OF PARAGUAYAN TRYPANOSOMA-CRUZI STRAINS ISOLATED FROM ACUTE PATIENTS OF CHAGAS-DISEASE

Five Paraguayan Trypanosoma cruzi strains, isolated from acute chagasi c patients, were studied by their behavior in BALB/c mice, metacyeloge nesis, bio-metry of metacyclic forms and lectin agglutination. Early a nd intermediate parasitemic peaks were observed and the strains did no t show high virulence. Metacyclogenesis capacity was not higher than 5 0% in all cases and there were no considerable differences in the biom etry. They all belong to WGA-type strains according to the lectin aggl utination assays except for one strain that agglutinated with WGA and PNA lectins. Although previous schizodeme analysis of these strains sh owed rather homogeneous profiles, biological features were quite heter ogeneous.