Triatoma infestans

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Triatoma infestans
Triatoma infestans - ZSM.jpg
Adult of Triatoma infestans
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Family: Reduviidae
Genus: Triatoma
Species:
T. infestans
Binomial name
Triatoma infestans
Klug, 1834
Synonyms

Triatoma infestans melanosomaMartínez, Olmedo & Carcavallo, 1987

Contents

Triatoma infestans nymph -- dorsal view Triatoma infestans closeup.jpg
Triatoma infestans nymph — dorsal view
Triatoma infestans 1st instar nymph feeding on a human host Triatoma infestans.jpg
Triatoma infestans 1st instar nymph feeding on a human host

Triatoma infestans, commonly called winchuka [1] or vinchuca [2] in Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Chile, barbeiro in Brazil, chipo in Venezuela and also known as "kissing bug" or "barber bug" in English, is a blood-sucking bug (like virtually all the members of its subfamily Triatominae) and the most important vector of Trypanosoma cruzi which can lead to Chagas disease. It is widespread in the Southern Cone countries of South America. [ZR 1] This region has joined the control intervention called Southern Cone Initiative managed by the PAHO.

During the Beagle survey voyage, Charles Darwin noted in his journal for 26 March 1835 having "experienced an attack, & it deserves no less a name, of the Benchuca, the great black bug of the Pampas. It is most disgusting to feel soft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over ones body; before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards round & bloated with blood, & in this state they are easily squashed." Richard Keynes describes this Benchuca as being Triatoma infestans. [3] Darwin is speculated to have died from chronic Chagas disease. [4]

Distribution

T. infestans has both a wide range of habitats/ecologies and geographic areas it inhabits - the former being the reason for the latter. [ZR 2]

Ecological distribution

In South America T. infestans is almost an exclusively domestic species, [ZR 3] [ZR 4] especially as a household pest in the Cochabamba Valley in Bolivia and parts of Paraguay and Argentina. [ZR 5]

There remain a few freeliving populations in Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. [ZR 5]

Tends to displace other Triatominae vectors of Chagas including Panstrongylus megistus , [ZR 6] [5] T. sordida , T. brasiliensis , and T. pseudomaculata . [5]

Geographical distribution

Brazil [ZR 1] (only widespread from 1955-1964, likely by immigrants from the south to Pernambuco, likely continuing to be spread by internal migration), [ZR 5] El Salvador, [ZR 1] Venezuela, [ZR 1] Peru [ZR 1] (anthropic transportation), [ZR 5] Argentina [ZR 1] (especially as a household pest in some areas), [ZR 5] Paraguay (especially as a household pest in some areas). [ZR 5]

Biology

Defecation

Defecation is central to the T. cruzi transmission cycle of Triatomines. There is no direct transmission by feeding, instead deposition of parasites is associated with a bloodmeal but occurs solely by defecation. Trumper and Gorla 1991 find transmission to be inversely correlated with vector density: Crowded areas tend to have T. infestans interrupting each other, and interrupted feedings do not provide as much as a completed bloodmeal. T. infestans is unlikely to defecate when not sated and so rarely transmits. Low vector density areas therefore have high rates of transmission. [6] [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chagas disease</span> Mammal parasitic disease

Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. It is spread mostly by insects in the subfamily Triatominae, known as "kissing bugs". The symptoms change over the course of the infection. In the early stage, symptoms are typically either not present or mild, and may include fever, swollen lymph nodes, headaches, or swelling at the site of the bite. After four to eight weeks, untreated individuals enter the chronic phase of disease, which in most cases does not result in further symptoms. Up to 45% of people with chronic infections develop heart disease 10–30 years after the initial illness, which can lead to heart failure. Digestive complications, including an enlarged esophagus or an enlarged colon, may also occur in up to 21% of people, and up to 10% of people may experience nerve damage.

<i>Triatoma protracta</i> Blood-sucking bug, spreading disease

Triatoma protracta is a species of any mid sized insect in the family Reduviidae. It is known commonly as the western bloodsucking conenose. It is distributed in the western United States and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reduviidae</span> Family of insects

The Reduviidae is a large cosmopolitan family of the suborder Heteroptera of the order Hemiptera. Among the Hemiptera and together with the Nabidae almost all species are terrestrial ambush predators; most other predatory Hemiptera are aquatic. The main examples of non-predatory Reduviidae are some blood-sucking ectoparasites in the subfamily Triatominae, with a few species from South America noted for their ability to transmit Chagas disease. Though spectacular exceptions are known, most members of the family are fairly easily recognizable; they have a relatively narrow neck, sturdy build, and formidable curved proboscis. Large specimens should be handled with caution, if at all, because they sometimes defend themselves with a very painful stab from the proboscis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triatominae</span> Subfamily of true bugs

The members of the Triatominae, a subfamily of the Reduviidae, are also known as conenose bugs, kissing bugs, or vampire bugs. Other local names for them used in the Americas include barbeiros, vinchucas, pitos, chipos and chinches. Most of the 130 or more species of this subfamily feed on vertebrate blood; a very small portion of species feed on invertebrates. They are mainly found and widespread in the Americas, with a few species present in Asia and Africa. These bugs usually share shelter with nesting vertebrates, from which they suck blood. In areas where Chagas disease occurs, all triatomine species are potential vectors of the Chagas disease parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, but only those species that are well adapted to living with humans are considered important vectors. Also, proteins released from their bites have been known to induce anaphylaxis in sensitive and sensitized individuals.

<i>Triatoma</i> Genus of true bugs

Triatoma is a genus of assassin bug in the subfamily Triatominae. The members of Triatoma are blood-sucking insects that can transmit serious diseases, such as Chagas disease. Their saliva may also trigger allergic reactions in sensitive individuals, up to and including severe anaphylactic shock.

<i>Panstrongylus geniculatus</i> Species of true bug

Panstrogylus geniculatus is a blood-sucking sylvatic insect noted as a putative vector of minor importance in the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi to humans; this is a parasite, which causes Chagas disease. The insect is described as sylvatic; subsisting primarily in humid forests, and is also known to inhabit vertebrate nesting places such as those of the armadillo, and is also involved in enzootic transmission of T. cruzi to those species. It has wide distribution throughout 16 Latin American countries.

<i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Species of parasitic euglenoids (protozoans)

Trypanosoma cruzi is a species of parasitic euglenoids. Among the protozoa, the trypanosomes characteristically bore tissue in another organism and feed on blood (primarily) and also lymph. This behaviour causes disease or the likelihood of disease that varies with the organism: Chagas disease in humans, dourine and surra in horses, and a brucellosis-like disease in cattle. Parasites need a host body and the haematophagous insect triatomine is the major vector in accord with a mechanism of infection. The triatomine likes the nests of vertebrate animals for shelter, where it bites and sucks blood for food. Individual triatomines infected with protozoa from other contact with animals transmit trypanosomes when the triatomine deposits its faeces on the host's skin surface and then bites. Penetration of the infected faeces is further facilitated by the scratching of the bite area by the human or animal host.

<i>Triatoma nigromaculata</i> Species of true bug

Triatoma nigromaculata is a sylvatic species of insect usually found in hollow trees, in vertebrate nests on trees and occasionally in human dwellings. It usually lives in relatively humid forests at high altitudes on mountain regions and foot hills. As all members of the subfamily Triatominae, T. nigromaculata is a blood-sucking bug and a potential vector of Chagas disease. This species is distributed mainly in Venezuela, but some specimens have also been found in Perú and Colombia (Cauca).

<i>Triatoma brasiliensis</i> Species of true bug

Triatoma brasiliensis is now considered the most important Chagas disease vector in the semiarid areas of northeastern Brazil. T. brasiliensis occurs in 12 Brazilian states, including Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, and Paraíba.

<i>Triatoma rubrovaria</i> Species of true bug

Triatoma rubrovaria is a species of triatomine that is ubiquitous to Uruguay, neighboring parts of northeastern Argentina, and in the southern states of Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. It was earlier reported as T. (triatoma) rubrovaria, a sylvatic species believed to be a highly competent vector of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease.

Rhodnius nasutus is a Chagas disease vector native to the northeast of Brazil. It belongs to the family Reduviidae and subfamily Triatominae, which are commonly known as "kissing bugs" or "assassin bugs". They are considered a highly important species concerning the infectious Chagas disease as they carry the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, that can be transmitted to the blood of mammals, including humans. This disease is an important issue in Brazil and central America due to the large number of Rhodnius species inhabiting these areas, however in recent efforts to reduce human infection, multiple variations of pesticides have dramatically reduced Triatomine populations. Therefore, the understanding and knowledge of Rhodnius nasutus greatly benefits our efforts in reducing life threatening infections.

<i>Triatoma dominicana</i> Extinct species of true bug

Triatoma dominicana is an extinct species of assassin bug in the subfamily Triatominae, the kissing bugs known from early Miocene Burdigalian stage Dominican amber deposits on the island of Hispaniola.

Triatoma platensis is an ornitophilic species of triatomine in the family Reduviidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

<i>Triatoma sanguisuga</i> Species of true bug

Triatoma sanguisuga, also known as the eastern bloodsucking conenose, is an insect of the Triatominae subfamily, known as kissing bugs.

<i>Triatoma gerstaeckeri</i> Species of true bug

Triatoma gerstaeckeri is an assassin bug in the genus Triatoma. It is an important vector of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. The range of T. gerstaeckeri is from the south-western United States to north-eastern Mexico. T. gerstaeckeri goes through three stages during its paurometabolous life cycle: egg, nymphal instars and adult.

Triatoma indictiva is an arthropod in the assassin bug family of Reduviidae, and is an important vector of Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi is the protozoan that causes Chagas Disease, which affects approximately eight million people a year in the western hemisphere alone. Triatoma indictiva is found in Mexico and throughout the southern United States, including Arizona and Texas.

Triatoma virus (TrV) is a virus belonging to the insect virus family Dicistroviridae. Within this family, there are currently 3 genera and 15 species of virus. Triatoma virus belongs to the genus Cripavirus. It is non-enveloped and its genetic material is positive-sense, single-stranded RNA. The natural hosts of triatoma virus are invertebrates. TrV is a known pathogen to Triatoma infestans, the major vector of Chagas disease in Argentina which makes triatoma virus a major candidate for biological vector control as opposed to chemical insecticides. Triatoma virus was first discovered in 1984 when a survey of pathogens of triatomes was conducted in the hopes of finding potential biological control methods for T. infestans.

<i>Panstrongylus megistus</i> Species of blood-drinking insect

Panstrongylus megistus is a blood-drinking insect in the subfamily Triatominae. It is found in the Guianas, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. It is an important vector of Trypanosoma cruzi, found particularly in Brazil. Besides humans, P. megistus is known to feed on birds, rodents, horses, dogs, opossums and bats.

<i>Triatoma sordida</i> Species of true bug

Triatoma sordida is an assassin bug within the genus Triatoma. This species consists of three subspecies. Also referred to as kissing bugs, T.sordida are most well known for their role as a secondary vector of Chagas Disease. Inhabiting warm, dry climates, T.sordida are widely distributed throughout South America, occupying houses, farming structures, and wild habitats. Pest control is currently focused on insecticide application. However, biological controls utilizing fungi appear promising.

<i>Paleotriatoma</i> Extinct species of true bug

Paleotriatoma metaxytaxa is a species of fossil insect belonging to the subfamily Triatominae of the family Reduviidae. Living kissing bugs are blood-sucking insects responsible for the transmission of Chagas disease. Chagas is a parasitic disease affecting millions of people mainly in South America, Central America and Mexico.

References

  1. Teofilo Laime Ajacopa (2007). Diccionario Bilingüe: Iskay simipi yuyayk’anch: Quechua – Castellano / Castellano – Quechua (PDF). La Paz, Bolivia: futatraw.ourproject.org.
  2. "Uruguay recibió distinción por los 20 años en que ha mantenido interrumpida la transmisión domiciliaria de la enfermedad de Chagas". Organización Panamericana de la Salud.
  3. Keynes 2001 , p.  315
  4. Clayton, Julie (24 June 2010). "Chagas disease 101". Nature. 465 (n7301_supp): S4–S5. Bibcode:2010Natur.465S...3C. doi: 10.1038/nature09220 . ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   20571553. S2CID   205221512.
  5. 1 2 Pereira, Marcos H.; Gontijo, Nelder F.; Guarneri, Alessandra A.; Sant'Anna, Maurício R.V.; Diotaiuti, Liléia (2006). "Competitive displacement in Triatominae: the Triatoma infestans success". Trends in Parasitology . 22 (11). Cell Press: 516–520. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2006.08.012. ISSN   1471-4922. PMID   16971183.
  6. Krinsky, William L. (2002). Mullen, Gary; Durden, Lance (eds.). Medical and veterinary entomology. Amsterdam Boston: Academic Press. pp. 67–86/xv–597. doi:10.1016/B978-012510451-7/50007-4. ISBN   978-0-12-510451-7. OCLC   50752006. S2CID   82769743. ISBN   0125104510. ISBN   9780080536071.
  7. Telleria, Jenny; Tibayrenc, Michel, eds. (2017). American trypanosomiasis Chagas disease: one hundred years of research. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-801029-7.00007-1. ISBN   978-0-12-801029-7. OCLC   971022099. S2CID   82080107. ISBN   0128010290.
  8. Sant'Anna, Maurício Roberto Viana; Soares, Adriana Coelho; Araujo, Ricardo Nascimento; Gontijo, Nelder Figueiredo; Pereira, Marcos Horácio (2017). "Triatomines (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) blood intake: Physical constraints and biological adaptations". Journal of Insect Physiology . 97. Elsevier: 20–26. Bibcode:2017JInsP..97...20S. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2016.08.004 . ISSN   0022-1910. PMID   27521585.
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 p. 102, "Between 1913 and 1924 it became evident that the disease was not confined to Brazil; with some epidemiological variants, it was diagnosed in EI Salvador, Venezuela, Peru, and Argentina. From then on, reports of new cases from almost all the countries in the Western Hemisphere indicated its wide distribution (211)."
  2. p. 104, "Its remarkable adaptability to different climatic conditions easily explains its wide-spread distribution (242)."
  3. p. 102, "With the arrival of man, the consequent disturbance of the natural foci enabled some triatomine vectors to be introduced, either actively or passively, into the new artificial ecotopes. Those insects that had a broad ecological valence became adapted to their new niches. Thus, from exoanthropic insects they became partially or almost entirely synanthropic, occupying the household environment but with some species still preserving their natural biotopes. In this way, man and some of his domestic animals became involved in the epidemiological chain, converting the disease into a true anthropozoonosis. The ratio of domestic and sylvatic cycles depends mainly on the species of vector involved and on the socioeconomic conditions prevalent in the new environment, which prompted Prata (178) to declare that Chagas' disease today is the result of ignorance and poverty. In some areas certain species of vector have become so adapted to the house that the transmission cycle involves only man and domestic animals, a situation that could well have existed for several centuries. In other areas sylvatic foci still exist where man is not involved, and combinations of these situations occur as well."
  4. p. 104, "The most domestic of these bugs is T. infestans..."
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 p. 104-5, "... and it is the principal vector in extensive areas of Chile (69, 70, 149), Argentina (71), Uruguay (155), Bolivia (33, 224), Paraguay (41), Brazil (11), and southern Peru (104). The southern limit of the species seems to be in the Province of Chubut, Argentina, near the 45th parallel (110), and it has been observed as high as 3682 m above sea level in that country (44). In Brazil this species has recently (1955-1964) spread widely, probably carried in the luggage of immigrants from the south up to the northeastern State of Pernambuco (128); in the same manner, it could easily invade still other areas of the country. ... In Peru a similar situation occurred as the species was transported by man north to Lima (214). The relationship of T. infestans with man has been longstanding; it has been recognized as a household pest in different foci, such as the Cochabamba Valley in Bolivia and some parts of Paraguay and Argentina, since the early seventeenth century (124). Nevertheless it still maintains a few natural biotopes in Argentina (28, 138, 228), Paraguay (227), and Brazil (12, 23)."
  6. p. 105, "Panstrongylus megistus ... It seems to compete disadvantageously with T. infestans but moves into houses when the latter is eliminated by insecticides (7)."