Identification in Triatomine Vectors of Feeding Sources and Trypanosoma Cruzi Variants by Heteroduplex Assay and a Multiplex Miniexon Polymerase Chain Reaction

Abstract

Feeding sources of triatomine vectors (Triatoma longipennis) collected in peridomiciles in Mexico were identified by a heteroduplex assay developed with triatomine blood meals. Trypanosoma cruzi parasites were also characterized in the same blood meal samples by multiplex-polymerase chain reaction assay of mini-exon gene inter-genic regions. The main blood meal source was from rats, but the bugs were able to feed on a wide variety of hosts, and human blood meals were identified. Trypanosoma cruzi was the only flagellate species identified in the blood meals. All populations belong to the T. cruzi I lineage, a result that is consistent with the previously assumed predominance of this lineage in Mexico. This combination of blood meal and T. cruzi lineage identification provides a powerful tool for understanding T. cruzi transmission cycles.

First Report of Widespread Wild Populations of Triatoma infestans (Reduviidae, Triatominae) in the Valleys of La Paz, Bolivia

“…Preliminary analysis of feces by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed infection of T. infestans by T. cruzi species (data not shown). 12 …”

Community Participation and Domiciliary Occurrence of Infected Meccus longipennis in Two Mexican Villages in Jalisco State

“…7 Three domestic transmission scenarios can typically be observed: 1) re-infestation by sylvatic populations (same or different species) after vector control of domestic populations 7,8 ; 2) expansion of human settlement in areas where environmental modifications favor the domestication of sylvatic autochthonous species 9 ; and 3) low endemic regions that have not yet gained adequate attention, but where vectors are concurrently sylvatic and domestic. [10][11][12][13] The Mexican situation reflects the last two profiles. However, the study of emerging vector transmission systems is difficult because of the great diversity of triatomine species involved whose biological properties are poorly known.…”

Entomological Indices, Feeding Sources, and Molecular Identification of Triatoma phyllosoma (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) One of the Main Vectors of Chagas Disease in the Istmo de Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico

“…For example, in Tepehuaje de Morelos, its blood meals were mainly from chicken, opossum, and pig, whereas in Los Guerreros, rats were the principal source. 19,20 In Mexico, Chagas disease was first reported in the mid1940s in the State of Oaxaca. 21 In this state, eight species of triatomines have been reported.…”