A complete picture of Chagas disease requires an appreciation of the many species of kissing bugs and their role in transmitting this disease to humans and other mammals. This chapter provides an overview of the taxonomy of the major species of kissing bugs and their evolution. Knowledge of systematics and biological kinship of these insects may contribute to novel and useful measures to control the bugs. The biology of kissing bugs, their life cycle, method of feeding and other behaviours contributing to the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi are explained. We close with a discussion of vector control measures and the allergic complications of kissing bug bites, a feature of particular importance in the United States.
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Common Bed Bugs: Non-Viable Hosts for Parasites.
Cells
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Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada.
The hemoflagellate parasite is transmitted by triatomine kissing bugs and may co-infect humans together with its Chagas disease-causing congener . Using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and antimicrobial assays, we studied () the temporal and spatial distribution of in common bed bugs, , following oral ingestion and hemocoelic injection of and () the immune responses of bed bugs induced by infections. Irrespective of infection mode, no live were present in the bed bugs' hemolymph, salivary glands, or feces.
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Laboratorio de Estudio de la Biología de Insectos, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Transferencia Tecnológica a la Producción (CICYTTP - CONICET), Diamante, Entre Ríos, Argentina; Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Ente Ríos, Entre Ríos, Argentina. Electronic address:
Chagas disease, vectored by kissing bugs, poses a public health problem across the Americas. The best way for reducing disease transmission is through vector control, which is currently based on the use of insecticides. However, insecticide resistance, and environmental and health issues, stress the need for new, environmentally-friendly methods for reducing vector-host contacts.
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Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Laboratorio de Neuroetología de Insectos, ETI2, Instituto Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada, IBBEA, CONICET-UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Article Synopsis
- - Kissing bugs are effective blood-feeders, using cues like carbon dioxide and heat to locate their warm-blooded hosts, but recent studies show they may also feed on cold-blooded animals and insects.
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TcCARP3 modulates compartmentalized cAMP signals involved in osmoregulation, infection of mammalian cells, and colonization of the triatomine vector in the human pathogen .
bioRxiv
November 2024
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-006, United States of America.
is the causative agent of Chagas disease, a zoonotic infectious disease considered a leading cause of cardiomyopathy, disability, and premature death in the Americas. This parasite spends its life between a mammalian host and an arthropod vector, undergoing essential transitions among different developmental forms. How senses microenvironmental changes that trigger cellular responses necessary for parasite survival has remained largely unknown.
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El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad Tapachula, Carretera Antiguo Aeropuerto Km. 2.5, Centro, Tapachula, Chiapas, 30700, México.
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