Abstract
We evaluated Trypanosoma cruzi infection in 397 wild Mepraia gajardoi specimens from five coastal localities in northern Chile by detection of minicircle DNA by polymerase chain reaction. The wild capture sites were classified into two ecotopes: a fully wild ecotope (ecotope 1) and a wild ecotope near human dwellings (ecotope 2). Infection rates varied between 11% and 27%. Minicircle hybridization assays showed that T. cruzi lineages Tc II and Tc VI were commonly detected in ecotope 1 and ecotope 2, respectively. These results are discussed in the context of insect proximity to human dwellings, the alimentary profile of Mepraia sp., T. cruzi lineages detected in the past in the same disease-endemic area circulating in humans, and Triatoma infestans.