A Triatoma maculata (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) population from Roraima, Amazon region, Brazil, has some bionomic characteristics of a potential Chagas disease vector


Autoria(s): Luitgards-Moura,José Francisco; Vargas,André Barbosa; Almeida,Carlos Eduardo; Magno-Esperança,Gleidson; Agapito-Souza,Ronildo; Folly-Ramos,Elaine; Costa,Jane; Tsouris,Pantelis; Rosa-Freitas,Maria Goreti
Data(s)

01/06/2005

Resumo

Even though Chagas disease is rare in the Brazilian Amazon, the conditions for the establishment of domiciliated cycles prevail in many areas where triatomines are of frequent occurrence. In Roraima, a previous serological and entomological survey in three agricultural settlements showed the existence of all transmission cycle elements, i.e., individuals infected by Trypanosoma cruzi, triatomine species previously found harboring T. cruzi in the broader Amazon region of neighboring countries and, domicile/ peridomicile conditions favorable to triatomine colonization. Triatoma maculata was the most frequent species, found in chicken houses in the peridomicile and sporadically within residences. Aiming to investigate the possibility of T. maculata to possess the potentiality to transmit T. cruzi in the area, bionomic characteristics were studied under laboratory conditions. These were feeding frequency, time for defecation after a blood meal, time elapsed in voluntary fasting pre- and pos-ecdysis, moulting time periods, pre-oviposition and oviposition periods and index of oviposition, incubation period, egg viability, longevity and mortality rate. Results show that the Passarão population of T. maculata should be considered a potential vector of T. cruzi since it shows a capacity to infest artificial ecotopes in the peridomicile, to carry out large number of meals during the nymphal cycle, to have a relatively short developmental cycle capable of producing 2.9 generations/year, to blood source eclecticism, to defecate immediately after the blood meal while still on the host and to the fact that has been previously found naturally infected by T.cruzi.

Formato

text/html

Identificador

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0036-46652005000300003

Idioma(s)

en

Publicador

Instituto de Medicina Tropical

Fonte

Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo v.47 n.3 2005

Palavras-Chave #Triatoma maculata #Chagas disease #Amazon #Roraima #Brazil #Bionomic studies
Tipo

journal article