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Domiciliation and sympatry of Triatoma maculata and Rhodnius prolixus, risk of Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in villages of Anzoátegui, Venezuela

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Abstract

The domiciliation of Triatoma maculata and Rhodnius prolixus and the entomological risk indicators for the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, an etiological agent of Chagas Disease-CD, were studied in rural villages of Anzoátegui state, Venezuela. Nightly home visits were made for 4 months/year, for 2 years, to search for and capture triatomines in human settlements. For six of the evaluated villages, 16.4% (11/67) of houses were found with triatomine infestation; obtaining 151 triatomines in all their ontogenetic stages, of which 54.3% (82/151) corresponded to T. maculata and 45.7% (69/151) to R. prolixus. In 7.5% of the evaluated houses, both species were presented in sympatry. Entomological indicators of transmission risk were higher for T. maculata in relation to R. prolixus. Inoculation of fecal flagellates of triatomines produced 2.92 × 105 flagellates/mL of blood in mean and 100% mortality in the murine model. Molecular tests (satellite DNA, kDNA and DTUs studies) demonstrated the presence of T. cruzi, all compatible with TcI. The food source determined by IESPA, revealed that R. prolixus showed less eclecticism in relation to T. maculata in the use of blood sources. This could be an indicator of an older domiciliation with low dispersion between ecotopes. The sympatry of T. maculata and R. prolixus had been recorded in natural niches, but for the first time it is recorded inside the houses in rural villages of the Anzoátegui state. Human dwellings can constitute an adequate niche, with available food sources for both triatomines species and with the risk of establishing AT/CD as zoonosis or zooanthroponosis.

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Funding

This work has been supported by FONACIT, Projects: Proyecto en Red Misión Ciencia MCT Nº 2008000911-6, Proyecto FONACIT Nº 2011000470 and Universidad de Carabobo Projects: Proyecto LOCTI-001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Medicina Tropical de Oriente, Universidad de Oriente (UDO) Núcleo Anzoátegui, Barcelona, Estado Anzoátegui, Venezuela

    L. Blohm, J. L. De Sousa & A. Morocoima

  2. Centro de Microscopía Electrónica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela

    A. Roschman-González

  3. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas “Dr. Francisco J. Triana Alonso” (BIOMED), Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud Sede Aragua, Universidad de Carabobo, Maracay, Estado Aragua, Venezuela

    E. Ferrer

  4. Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Ciencias de La Salud Sede Aragua, Universidad de Carabobo, Maracay, Estado Aragua, Venezuela

    E. Ferrer

  5. Laboratorio de Biología de Vectores y Parásitos, Instituto de Zoología y Ecología Tropical, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, 1041, DF, Venezuela

    L. Herrera

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  1. L. Blohm
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Blohm, L., De Sousa, J.L., Roschman-González, A. et al. Domiciliation and sympatry of Triatoma maculata and Rhodnius prolixus, risk of Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in villages of Anzoátegui, Venezuela. J Parasit Dis 46, 37–46 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-021-01416-8

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