Trypanosoma cruzi in the Hematophagous Bats Desmodus rotundus in Central Mexico

Wild animals play an important role in the epidemiological cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi transmission. The order Chiroptera is ecologically significant as a reservoir host for parasite variants, including TcI, TcII, TcIV, and TcBat. This study aimed to detect T. cruzi in multiple organs of Desmodus rotundus from two regions of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. A total of 63 D. rotundus samples were obtained, of which 22.2% (14/63) tested positive for T. cruzi infection. The highest infection rate was observed in the Media region, with 47.3% (9/19) of samples being infected, whereas in the Huasteca region 11.3% (5/44) of samples were infected. Infection prevalence did not differ significantly by sex or age. Of the five organs tested, only the intestine and the kidney were positive. Phylogenetic and genetic distance analyses revealed sequence identity values >98% with TcI/Tbat trypanosomes. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that bats, particularly hematophagous species such as D. rotundus, play a significant role in maintaining T. cruzi in sylvatic environments and potentially facilitating transmission at the wildlife–domestic interface. Continuous surveillance integrating bat populations, vectors, humans, and domestic animals is essential for understanding and mitigating the risk of Chagas disease in regions where sylvatic and domestic transmission cycles overlap.