ABSTRACT
Background:
Trypanosoma cruzi presents great variability in morphology, virulence, pathogenicity, avoidance of the host immune system, and antigenic constitution, associated with different clinical manifestations of the disease.
Methods:
Two strains of T. cruzi were cultivated in liver infusion tryptose to determine growth kinetics, morphometry and molecular characterization using restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction.
Results:
The biological parameters showed sharp growth by the 7th day. Morphologically, both strains showed short and thin forms and were classified as Group I.
Conclusion:
Group TcI presents cardiac manifestations and T. sherlocki is adapting to the home environment, requiring attention to future problems.
Keywords:
Chagas disease; Trypanosoma cruzi; Epidemiology; Vector biology