Abstract
After the decrease of the relative importance of Triatoma infestans, a number of studies reported the occurrence of sylvatic triatomines dispersing actively to domestic environments in the dry western Chaco Region of Argentina. Anthropic modification of the landscape is mentioned as one of the main causes of the increase in domicile invasion. The aim of this study was to describe the occurrence and frequency of sylvatic triatomines invading rural houses, and to evaluate the effect of habitat fragmentation and other ecological factors on the invasion of rural houses in central Argentina. We hypothesized that the decrease in food sources and the loss of wild ecotopes, as a consequence of habitat fragmentation, increase the chances of invasion by triatomines. The entomological data was collected by community-based vector surveillance during fieldwork carried out between 2017-2020, over 131 houses located in fourteen rural communities in the northwest of Córdoba Province (central Argentina). We used generalized linear models to evaluate the effect of (i) the environmental anthropic disturbance in the study area, (ii) the composition and configuration of the landscape surrounding the house, (iii) the spatial arrangement of houses, (iv) and the availability of artificial refuges and domestic animals in the peridomicile, on house invasion by triatomines. We report the occurrence of seven species of triatomines invading rural houses in the study area -T. infestans, T. guasayana, T. garciabesi, T. platensis, T. delpontei, T. breyeri and P. guentheri-. Study data suggest that invasion by triatomines occurs with higher frequency in disturbed landscapes, with houses spatially isolated and in proximity to subdivided fragments of forest. The availability of domestic refuges in the peridomestic structures as well as the presence of a higher number of domestic animals increase the chances of invasion by triatomines.
Highlights
Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which infects more than 100 species of domestic and sylvatic mammals and can be transmitted by blood-sucking insects of the subfamily Triatominae (Reduviidae) [1].Most of the 140 triatomine species have been shown to be naturally or experimentally infected with T. cruzi
We report the occurrence of seven species of triatomines invading rural houses in the study area -T. infestans, T. guasayana, T. garciabesi, T. platensis, T. delpontei, T. breyeri and P. guentheri
Triatoma infestans is the main vector of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease in the southern cone countries of South America
Summary
Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which infects more than 100 species of domestic and sylvatic mammals and can be transmitted by blood-sucking insects of the subfamily Triatominae (Reduviidae) [1].Most of the 140 triatomine species have been shown to be naturally or experimentally infected with T. cruzi. Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which infects more than 100 species of domestic and sylvatic mammals and can be transmitted by blood-sucking insects of the subfamily Triatominae (Reduviidae) [1]. Sylvatic species are considered of secondary epidemiological importance, they are responsible for maintaining the sylvatic transmission cycle of T. cruzi, involving several species of wild mammals, including marsupials, carnivores, armadillos, bats and rodents [8,9,10]. Previous studies carried out in the semiarid Chaco region of Argentina reported high infection prevalence in opossums and armadillos [11,12] and high infection rates with T. cruzi from sylvatic triatomines invading rural houses [13]. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of domicile invasion by sylvatic triatomines becomes relevant in terms of the introduction of T. cruzi from the sylvatic to domestic transmission cycle and the associated risk of Chagas disease transmission to humans [9,14]
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