Abstract
BackgroundChagas' disease is an important public health concern in Latin America. Despite intensive vector control efforts using pyrethroid insecticides, the elimination of Triatoma infestans has failed in the Gran Chaco, an ecoregion that extends over Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil.The voltage-gated sodium channel is the target site of pyrethroid insecticides. Point mutations in domain II region of the channel have been implicated in pyrethroid resistance of several insect species.Methods and FindingsIn the present paper, we identify L925I, a new pyrethroid resistance-conferring mutation in T. infestans. This mutation has been found only in hemipterans. In T. infestans, L925I mutation occurs in a resistant population from the Gran Chaco region and is associated with inefficiency in the control campaigns. We also describe a method to detect L925I mutation in individuals from the field.Conclusions and SignificanceThe findings have important implications in the implementation of strategies for resistance management and in the rational design of campaigns for the control of Chagas' disease transmission.
Highlights
Chagas’ disease is an important but neglected tropical disease that affects 10 million people in Central and South America; the insect vectors Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus are responsible for most of the cases in the continent
In the Gran Chaco ecoregion, the elimination of T. infestans has failed, even in areas subjected to intense vector control efforts using pyrethroid insecticides; the reasons for this failure are poorly understood [2,3]
Determining the reasons for the persistence of T. infestans in the Gran Chaco has been recognized as a priority of the Southern Cone Initiative (SCI), in its 15th meeting held in Brasilia in 2006 [3]
Summary
Chagas’ disease is an important but neglected tropical disease that affects 10 million people in Central and South America; the insect vectors Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus are responsible for most of the cases in the continent (http://www.who.int/ mediacentre/factsheets/fs340/en/). The Southern Cone Initiative (SCI), created in 1991 by the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, has reduced the geographic range and infestation prevalence of triatomine vectors [1,2]. In the Gran Chaco ecoregion, the elimination of T. infestans has failed, even in areas subjected to intense vector control efforts using pyrethroid insecticides; the reasons for this failure are poorly understood [2,3]. Despite intensive vector control efforts using pyrethroid insecticides, the elimination of Triatoma infestans has failed in the Gran Chaco, an ecoregion that extends over Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil. Point mutations in domain II region of the channel have been implicated in pyrethroid resistance of several insect species
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