Background:The subfamily Triatominae, which comprises 157 species, carries the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. This short communication reports for the first time the occurrence of Rhodnius montenegrensis in Bolivia.
Methods:Active searches were carried out on palm trees of the genus Oenocarpus in Beni district, Bolivia.Results: Fifteen R. montenegrensis specimens were collected from a rural area of the Beni district, Bolivia, and tested positive for T. cruzi.
Conclusions:This new report expands the geographic distribution of the species in Latin America. Due to their ability to transmit trypanosomatids, the species deserves the attention of vector control programs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations鈥揷itations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.