The mega-producing capacity of three strains of Trypanosoma cruzi of widely different origins was examined using techniques previously described. A significant correlation was found for two of the strains between the volume and weight of the stomach at autopsy and measurement of the area of a barium silhouette of this organ. All three strains caused significant stomach dilatation after prolonged infection in the mice when compare with a control uninfected group. However the behavior of a strain (mega) previously studied in this model had altered, possibly as a result ofrepeated mice passage in the laboratory.
Chagas' disease; Experimental megasyndrome