title: Atlas of Mexican Triatominae (Reduviidae: Hemiptera) and vector transmission of Chagas disease.
abstract: Chagas disease is one of the most important yet neglected parasitic diseases in Mexico and is transmitted by Triatominae. Nineteen of the 31 Mexican triatomine species have been consistently found to invade human houses and all have been found to be naturally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. The present paper aims to produce a state-of-knowledge atlas of Mexican triatomines and analyse their geographic associations with T. cruzi, human demographics and landscape modification. Ecological niche models (ENMs) were constructed for the 19 species with more than 10 records in North America, as well as for T. cruzi. The 2010 Mexican national census and the 2007 National Forestry Inventory were used to analyse overlap patterns with ENMs. Niche breadth was greatest in species from the semiarid Nearctic Region, whereas species richness was associated with topographic heterogeneity in the Neotropical Region, particularly along the Pacific Coast. Three species, Triatoma longipennis, Triatoma mexicana and Triatoma barberi, overlapped with the greatest numbers of human communities, but these communities had the lowest rural/urban population ratios. Triatomine vectors have urbanised in most regions, demonstrating a high tolerance to human-modified habitats and broadened historical ranges, exposing more than 88% of the Mexican population and leaving few areas in Mexico without the potential for T. cruzi transmission.
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Investigación en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Tapachula, Chiapas, México.
authors.forename: Janine M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ramsey
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: A Townsend
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Investigación en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Tapachula, Chiapas, México.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Carmona-Castro
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Investigación en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Tapachula, Chiapas, México.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Moo-Llanes
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakazawa
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Morgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Butrick
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Investigación en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Tapachula, Chiapas, México.
authors.forename: Ezequiel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tun-Ku
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Investigación en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Tapachula, Chiapas, México.
authors.forename: Keynes de
authors.initials: Kd
authors.lastname: la Cruz-Félix
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, Yucatán, México.
authors.forename: Carlos N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Ibarra-Cerdeña
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000635:transmission; D017753:Ecosystem; D062306:Geography, Medical; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification*; D008800:Mexico; D008954:Models, Biological; D011156:Population Density; D014225:Triatominae / Q000145:classification*