title: Life cycle and vectorial competence of Triatoma williami (Galvão, Souza e Lima, 1965) under the influence of different blood meal sources.
abstract: Triatoma williami is naturally infected by Trypanosoma cruzi, the ethiological agent of Chagas disease, the most significant cause of morbidity and mortality in South and Central America.The possibility of domiciliation of T. williami increases the risk of human T. cruzi vetorial transmission. Despite this, there is a lack of data demonstrating the bionomic aspects, the vectorial competence or the natural ecotope and the wild hosts of T. williami. This study describes for the first time the life cycle of T. williami under the influence of two blood meal sources and also evaluates the vectorial potential of the species. The development of two groups of hundred triatomines was followed over the nymphal stages and adulthood. Each group was exposed to a sole blood meal source, mammalian or bird. The average egg-to-adult development time in both groups was similar, except by shorter stages of N3 and N4 in triatomines fed on mammals. The group fed on birds needed more blood feedings to suffer the ecdysis and had higher cumulative mortality in the nymphal stages. Although the observed delay at defecation of adults after feeding, our results suggest that T. williami in the third and fifth nymphal stages may be good vectors.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Parasitos e Vetores, Campus Universitário do Araguaia,Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Caixa Postal 232, 78600-000 Barra do Garças, Mato Grosso, Brazil; Doutorado em Parasitologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosaline Rocha
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Lunardi
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Parasitos e Vetores, Campus Universitário do Araguaia,Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Caixa Postal 232, 78600-000 Barra do Garças, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
authors.forename: Letícia Pinho
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Parasitos e Vetores, Campus Universitário do Araguaia,Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Caixa Postal 232, 78600-000 Barra do Garças, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thaís
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Peres Câmara
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Parasitos e Vetores, Campus Universitário do Araguaia,Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Caixa Postal 232, 78600-000 Barra do Garças, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
authors.forename: Wagner Welber
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Arrais-Silva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002489:Central America; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000635:transmission; D003370:Coturnix; D003672:Defecation; D004032:Diet; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000469:parasitology; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D051379:Mice; D009758:Nymph; D014224:Triatoma / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000469:parasitology; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi