Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Oct 6:12:998202.
doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.998202. eCollection 2022.

Interrogating the transmission dynamics of Trypanosoma cruzi (Trypanosomatida, Trypanosomatidae) by Triatoma venosa (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) after the elimination of vector transmission by Rhodnius prolixus in Boyacá eastern Colombia

Manuel Medina  1 , Sara Zuluaga  2 , María Fernanda Martínez  1 , Juan Carlos Bermúdez  1 , Carolina Hernández  3 , Virgilio Beltrán  1 , Natalia Velásquez-Ortiz  3 , Marina Muñoz  3 , Juan David Ramírez  3   4 , Omar Triana  2 , Omar Cantillo-Barraza  2
Affiliations

Interrogating the transmission dynamics of Trypanosoma cruzi (Trypanosomatida, Trypanosomatidae) by Triatoma venosa (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) after the elimination of vector transmission by Rhodnius prolixus in Boyacá eastern Colombia

Manuel Medina et al. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. .

Abstract

Chagas disease (CD) is a parasitic zoonosis (Trypanosoma cruzi) that is endemic in Colombia. Vector control of Rhodnius prolixus, the main domestic T. cruzi vector, has been achieved in a large part of the area with historically vector transmission of CD. It is necessary to understand the ecological behavior characteristics of local native vectors to ensure sustainability of the vector control programs. To evaluate the long-term success of a recent vector control campaign in the Boyacá department (Colombia), we used a combined strategy of entomological surveillance with co-existing canine surveillance from ten rural villages within six municipalities of the Tenza valley region (Boyacá, Colombia): Chinavita, Garagoa, Guateque, Somondoco, Sutatenza and Tenza, with historical reports of R. prolixus and secondary vectors. Collected triatomines and canine whole blood were analyzed for T. cruzi infection and genotyping. Triatomine bugs specimens were evaluated for blood meal source. Canine serology was performed using two distinct antibody assays. In total, 101 Triatoma venosa were collected by active search in domestic and peridomestic habitats. A natural infection prevalence of 13.9% (14/101) and four feeding sources were identified: human, dog, rat, and hen. A frequency infection of 46.5% (40/87) was observed from two independent serological tests and T. cruzi DNA was detected in 14 dogs (16.4%). Only TcIsylvatic DTU was detected. The results suggest that T. venosa present eco-epidemiological characteristics to maintain the transmission of T. cruzi in Tenza valley. This species has reinfested the intervened households and it has an active role in domestic and peridomestic transmission of T. cruzi due to their infection rates and feeding behavior. Therefore, this species should be considered as epidemiologically relevant for vector control strategies. Moreover, there is a need for human serological studies to have a close up of risk they are exposed to.

Keywords: Chagas disease; Colombia; Rhodnius prolixus; Secondary vectors; Triatoma venosa; Triatomines.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Geographical distribution of the samples in the study area and collection sites. (A) Map of south America highlighting Colombia, (B) Map of Colombia highlighting Boyacá, (C) Map of Boyacá highlighting the study area and (D) Municipalities of Valle de Tenza and villages evaluated.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of feeding profiles of T. venosa specimens per municipality. The barplot shows top 4 blood meals T. venosa fed on.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abad-Franch F., Gurgel-Gonçalves R. (2021). “The ecology and natural history of wild triatominae in the americas,” in Guarneri A. A., Lorenzo M. G. editors. Entomologyin focus. Triatominae-the biology of chagas disease vectors (Cham: Springer; ), 387–445. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-64548-9_16 - DOI
    1. Abad-Franch F., Monteiro F. A. (2007). Biogeography and evolution of Amazonian triatomines (Heteroptera: Reduviidae): implications for chagas disease surveillance in humid forest ecoregions. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 102, 57–70. doi: 10.1590/S0074-02762007005000108 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Abad-Franch F., Paucar C A., Carpio C C., Cuba Cuba C. A., Aguilar V H. M., Miles M. A. (2001). Biogeography of triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in Ecuador: Implications for the design of control strategies. Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 96 (5), 611–620. doi: 10.1590/S0074-02762001000500004 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Arias-Giraldo L. M., Muñoz M., Hernández C., Herrera G., Velásquez-Ortiz N., Cantillo-Barraza O., et al. . (2020). Identification of blood-feeding sources in Panstrongylus, Psammolestes, Rhodnius and Triatoma using amplicon-based next-generation sequencing. Parasites Vectors 13 (1), 434. doi: 10.1186/s13071-020-04310-z - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Caicedo-Garzón V., Salgado-Roa F. C., Sánchez-Herrera M., Hernández C., Arias-Giraldo L. M., García L., et al. . (2019). Genetic diversification of Panstrongylus geniculatus (Reduviidae: Triatominae) in northern south America. PLoS One 14 (10), e0223963. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223963 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types