title: Feeding sources and natural infection of Belminus herreri (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) from dwellings in Cesar, Colombia.
abstract: Belminus herreri, originally described from specimens collected in Panama, was considered entirely silvatic until to 2000 when it was found for the first time in a domestic habitat in Colombia. In 2001, during a new search of houses in the Department of Cesar, Colombia, 121 specimens were collected. Study of their feeding sources using an ELISA test revealed that 96% of these specimens had fed on cockroaches (Blattidae). However, a small proportion of these B. herreri specimens also showed the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi in their gut contents, suggesting a possible role for these insects in the epidemiology of Chagas disease.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones en Enfermedades Tropicales, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Santander, Colombia.
authors.forename: Claudia Magaly
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Sandoval
authors.forename: Rosemere
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: Reinaldo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gutíerrez
authors.forename: Dayse da Silva
authors.initials: Dda S
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Victor Manuel
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Angulo
authors.forename: Lida
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Esteban
authors.forename: Marlen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jurberg
authors.forename: Cleber
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Galvão
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000635:transmission; D003105:Colombia; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents; D006798:Housing; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014225:Triatominae / Q000469:parasitology / Q000502:physiology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000302:isolation & purification