Wild ecotopes and food habits of Triatoma longipennis infected by Trypanosoma cruzi lineages I and II in Mexico.
The control of wild triatomine populations that can invade dwellings is a major challenge for Chagas disease control in Mexico, but a better knowledge of the biology of these populations is required to develop appropriate control methods. We describe a new terrestrial ecotope of Triatoma longipennis, a principal vector in the occidental part of Mexico, in addition to its previously identified niche in rock pile boundary walls. Analysis of feeding hosts in the two ecotopes showed that this species is able to diversify its food sources outside of the principal hosts, Dasypus novemcinctus and Procyon lotor, and to disperse in search of new meals. Moreover, T. longipennis are strongly infected not only by the Trypanosoma cruzi I lineage found in the domestic cycle, but also by T. cruzi lineage II. The impact of T. cruzi II on human infection remains to be determined.
Bosseno
Marie-France
MF
Département Société et Santé, Unité de Recherche 016 and Unité de Recherche 165, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier, France.
Barnabé
Christian
C
Sierra
Maria Jesus Ramirez
MJ
Kengne
Pierre
P
Guerrero
Sergio
S
Lozano
Felipe
F
Ezequiel
Kasten
K
Gastélum
Magallón
M
Brenière
Simone Frédérique
SF
D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D051379:Mice; D014224:Triatoma / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*