Elucidating the Mechanism of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Acquisition by Triatomine Insects: Evidence from a Large Field Survey of <i>Triatoma infestans</i>
Blood-sucking triatomine bugs transmit the protozoan parasite <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i>, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease. We measured the prevalence of <i>T. cruzi</i> infection in 58,519 <i>Triatoma infestans</i> captured in residences in and near Arequipa,...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/5/2/87 |
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| author | Aaron W. Tustin Ricardo Castillo-Neyra Laura D. Tamayo Renzo Salazar Katty Borini-Mayorí Michael Z. Levy |
| author_facet | Aaron W. Tustin Ricardo Castillo-Neyra Laura D. Tamayo Renzo Salazar Katty Borini-Mayorí Michael Z. Levy |
| author_sort | Aaron W. Tustin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Blood-sucking triatomine bugs transmit the protozoan parasite <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i>, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease. We measured the prevalence of <i>T. cruzi</i> infection in 58,519 <i>Triatoma infestans</i> captured in residences in and near Arequipa, Peru. Among bugs from infected colonies, <i>T. cruzi</i> prevalence increased with stage from 12% in second instars to 36% in adults. Regression models demonstrated that the probability of parasite acquisition was roughly the same for each developmental stage. Prevalence increased by 5.9% with each additional stage. We postulate that the probability of acquiring the parasite may be related to the number of feeding events. Transmission of the parasite does not appear to be correlated with the amount of blood ingested during feeding. Similarly, other hypothesized transmission routes such as coprophagy fail to explain the observed pattern of prevalence. Our results could have implications for the feasibility of late-acting control strategies that preferentially kill older insects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:27:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-995890f3349846db85e1ec3d6f925c91 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2414-6366 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:27:53Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease |
| spelling | doaj.art-995890f3349846db85e1ec3d6f925c912023-11-20T02:24:58ZengMDPI AGTropical Medicine and Infectious Disease2414-63662020-06-01528710.3390/tropicalmed5020087Elucidating the Mechanism of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Acquisition by Triatomine Insects: Evidence from a Large Field Survey of <i>Triatoma infestans</i>Aaron W. Tustin0Ricardo Castillo-Neyra1Laura D. Tamayo2Renzo Salazar3Katty Borini-Mayorí4Michael Z. Levy5Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USAZoonotic Disease Research Lab, One Health Unit, School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Lima Province 15102, PeruZoonotic Disease Research Lab, One Health Unit, School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Lima Province 15102, PeruZoonotic Disease Research Lab, One Health Unit, School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Lima Province 15102, PeruZoonotic Disease Research Lab, One Health Unit, School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Lima Province 15102, PeruZoonotic Disease Research Lab, One Health Unit, School of Public Health and Administration, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Lima Province 15102, PeruBlood-sucking triatomine bugs transmit the protozoan parasite <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i>, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease. We measured the prevalence of <i>T. cruzi</i> infection in 58,519 <i>Triatoma infestans</i> captured in residences in and near Arequipa, Peru. Among bugs from infected colonies, <i>T. cruzi</i> prevalence increased with stage from 12% in second instars to 36% in adults. Regression models demonstrated that the probability of parasite acquisition was roughly the same for each developmental stage. Prevalence increased by 5.9% with each additional stage. We postulate that the probability of acquiring the parasite may be related to the number of feeding events. Transmission of the parasite does not appear to be correlated with the amount of blood ingested during feeding. Similarly, other hypothesized transmission routes such as coprophagy fail to explain the observed pattern of prevalence. Our results could have implications for the feasibility of late-acting control strategies that preferentially kill older insects.https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/5/2/87<i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i><i>Triatoma infestans</i>Chagas diseaseparasite prevalencecoprophagy |
| spellingShingle | Aaron W. Tustin Ricardo Castillo-Neyra Laura D. Tamayo Renzo Salazar Katty Borini-Mayorí Michael Z. Levy Elucidating the Mechanism of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Acquisition by Triatomine Insects: Evidence from a Large Field Survey of <i>Triatoma infestans</i> Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> <i>Triatoma infestans</i> Chagas disease parasite prevalence coprophagy |
| title | Elucidating the Mechanism of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Acquisition by Triatomine Insects: Evidence from a Large Field Survey of <i>Triatoma infestans</i> |
| title_full | Elucidating the Mechanism of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Acquisition by Triatomine Insects: Evidence from a Large Field Survey of <i>Triatoma infestans</i> |
| title_fullStr | Elucidating the Mechanism of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Acquisition by Triatomine Insects: Evidence from a Large Field Survey of <i>Triatoma infestans</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Elucidating the Mechanism of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Acquisition by Triatomine Insects: Evidence from a Large Field Survey of <i>Triatoma infestans</i> |
| title_short | Elucidating the Mechanism of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Acquisition by Triatomine Insects: Evidence from a Large Field Survey of <i>Triatoma infestans</i> |
| title_sort | elucidating the mechanism of i trypanosoma cruzi i acquisition by triatomine insects evidence from a large field survey of i triatoma infestans i |
| topic | <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> <i>Triatoma infestans</i> Chagas disease parasite prevalence coprophagy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/5/2/87 |
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