On palms, bugs, and Chagas disease in the Americas

Abad‐Franch, Fernando; Lima, Marli Maria; Sarquis, Otília; Gurgel-Gonçalves, Rodrigo; Sánchez‐Martín, M. J.; Calzada, José E.; Saldaña, Azäel; Monteiro, Fernando A.; Palomeque, Francisco S.; Santos, Walter Souza; Angulo, Vı́ctor Manuel; Esteban, Lyda; Dias, Fernando Braga Stehling; Diotaiuti, Liléia; Bar, María Esther; Gottdenker, Nicole

doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2015.07.005

Cited by 83 publications

(121 citation statements)

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“…These vectors are part of the subfamily Triatominae (Hemiptera:Reduviidae), which comprises of five tribes [2, 3]. The tribe Rhodniini consists of two genera: Psammolestes , which includes three species, and Rhodnius containing 20 species, which are found in the Americas [4–6]. The genus Rhodnius has a wide distribution in most of Latin America, with the exception of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay [2, 4, 7], consisting of tree-dwelling species that use as their main habitat palm tree canopies that shelter mammals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The tribe Rhodniini consists of two genera: Psammolestes , which includes three species, and Rhodnius containing 20 species, which are found in the Americas [4–6]. The genus Rhodnius has a wide distribution in most of Latin America, with the exception of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay [2, 4, 7], consisting of tree-dwelling species that use as their main habitat palm tree canopies that shelter mammals. The genus is therefore considered sylvatic [2, 4, 7], but many Rhodnius species are adapting to peridomiciliary and even intradomiciliary environments as a result of the changes to their natural habitats that have been caused by urbanization [8, 9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Differential transcriptome analysis supports Rhodnius montenegrensis and Rhodnius robustus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) as distinct species

et al. 2017

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Chagas disease is one of the main parasitic diseases found in Latin America and it is estimated that between six and seven million people are infected worldwide. Its etiologic agent, the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is transmitted by triatomines, some of which from the genus Rhodnius. Twenty species are currently recognized in this genus, including some closely related species with low levels of morphological differentiation, such as Rhodnius montenegrensis and Rhodnius robustus. In order to investigate genetic differences between these two species, we generated large-scale RNA-sequencing data (consisting of four RNA-seq libraries) from the heads and salivary glands of males of R. montenegrensis and R. robustus. Transcriptome assemblies produced for each species resulted in 64,952 contigs for R. montenegrensis and 70,894 contigs for R. robustus, with N50 of approximately 2,100 for both species. SNP calling based on the more complete R. robustus assembly revealed 3,055 fixed interspecific differences and 216 transcripts with high levels of divergence which contained only fixed differences between the two species. A gene ontology enrichment analysis revealed that these highly differentiated transcripts were enriched for eight GO terms related to AP-2 adaptor complex, as well as other interesting genes that could be involved in their differentiation. The results show that R. montenegrensis and R. robustus have a substantial quantity of fixed interspecific polymorphisms, which suggests a high degree of genetic divergence between the two species and likely corroborates the species status of R. montenegrensis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential transcriptome analysis supports Rhodnius montenegrensis and Rhodnius robustus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) as distinct species

et al. 2017

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“…When PHE increases, high variability of epidemiological variables occurs among various studies and the need to examine particular house configurations within villages is critical [21–23]. In practice, the level of house-palm proximity can vary by at least three simple mechanisms: (i) keeping a single palm or a few palms near houses in the middle of the village [8]; (ii) introducing a single house or few houses into or near a gallery forest [21]; and (iii) adding a connected network of dwellings to a house that is connected to the forest. These scenarios result in high PPBC and low NC.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies have reported that about 38 species of large palm trees with complex crowns are often infested by triatomines [8]. While some triatomines are opportunistic palm inhabitants, one study suggested that most of the species in the tribe Rhodniini are palm-specialized [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the effects of palm-house proximity on the theoretical risk of Chagas disease transmission in a rural locality of the Orinoco basin, Colombia

Erazo

Cordovez

2016

Parasites Vectors

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BackgroundChagas disease is a major public health concern in Latin America and it is transmitted by insects of the subfamily Triatominae, including Rhodnius spp. Since palm trees are ubiquitous in Colombia and a habitat for Rhodnius spp., the presence of palms near villages could increase contact rates between vectors and humans. Therefore, knowing whether a relationship exists between the proximity of palms to villages and the abundance and distribution of vectors therein, may be critical for Chagas disease prevention programs. Adapting a mathematical model for R. prolixus population dynamics in a small village, we model the implications of changing distances between palms and dwellings, to the risk of Chagas disease infection.MethodsWe implemented a mathematical model that reflects R. prolixus population dynamics in a small village located in the department of Casanare (Colombia) to study the role of palm-house proximity. We varied the distance between palms and houses by monitoring the network global efficiency metric. We constructed 1,000 hypothetical villages varying distances and each one was run 100 times.ResultsAccording to the model, as palm-house proximity increases, houses were more likely to be visited by triatomine bugs. The number of bugs per unit time increased progressively in a non-linear fashion with high variability. We stress the importance of village configuration on the model output.ConclusionsFrom a theoretical perspective, palm-house proximity may have a positive effect on the incidence of Chagas disease. The model predicts a 1% increase in new human cases per year when houses and palms are brought closer by 75%.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1884-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…nasutus . The natural habitats of this species are palm trees, such as Copernicia prunifera , which are abundant in the region [25,26,27]. However, the habitat of R .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community-Based Entomological Surveillance Reveals Urban Foci of Chagas Disease Vectors in Sobral, State of Ceará, Northeastern Brazil

et al. 2017

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BackgroundThe aim of this work was to explore the potential risk of vector-borne Chagas disease in urban districts in northeastern Brazil, by analyzing the spatiotemporal distributions and natural infection rates with Trypanosoma cruzi of triatomine species captured in recent years. The main motivation of this work was an acute human case of Chagas disease reported in 2008 in the municipality of Sobral.Methodology/principal findingsWe analyzed data from community-based entomological surveillance carried out from 2010 to 2014. Triatomine natural T. cruzi infection was assessed by examination of insect feces by optical microscopy. Sites of triatomine capture were georeferenced through Google Earth and analyzed with ArcGIS. A total of 191 triatomines were collected, consisting of 82.2% Triatoma pseudomaculata, 7.9% Rhodnius nasutus, 5.8% T. brasiliensis, 3.7% Panstrongylus lutzi, and 0.5% P. megistus, with an overall natural infection index of 17.8%. Most infestations were reported in the districts of Dom José (36.2%), Padre Palhano (24.7%), and Alto do Cristo (10.6%). The overwhelming majority of insects (185/96.9%) were captured inside houses, and most insects tended to be collected in intermittent peaks. Moreover, captured triatomines tended to constitute colonies. The acute case reported in 2008 was found to be situated within a T. pseudomaculata hotspot.ConclusionThe triatomine collection events carried out by dwellers were aggregated in time and space into distinct foci, suggesting that insects are intermittently and artificially introduced into the city, possibly via accidental migration from their natural reservoirs. The relatively high T. cruzi infection rate indicates considerable circulation of the parasite in these areas, increasing the risk of vector-borne Chagas disease infection. These data suggest a need to strengthen epidemiological surveillance and integrate appropriate control actions targeting triatomines, T. cruzi reservoirs, and human populations. Our data also identify Chagas disease transmission as a hazard in urban areas of Sobral.

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On palms, bugs, and Chagas disease in the Americas

Cited by 83 publications

References 102 publications

Differential transcriptome analysis supports Rhodnius montenegrensis and Rhodnius robustus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) as distinct species

Differential transcriptome analysis supports Rhodnius montenegrensis and Rhodnius robustus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) as distinct species

Modeling the effects of palm-house proximity on the theoretical risk of Chagas disease transmission in a rural locality of the Orinoco basin, Colombia

Community-Based Entomological Surveillance Reveals Urban Foci of Chagas Disease Vectors in Sobral, State of Ceará, Northeastern Brazil

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