First report of Rhodnius montenegrensis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) infection by Trypanosoma rangeli

Abstract

Introduction: This study reports for the fi rst time the infection of Rhodnius montenegrensis by Trypanosoma rangeli. Methods: The triatomines were manually collected in Attalea speciosa in the municipality of Buritis, Rondônia. The identifi cation of the trypanosomatid species was confi rmed by multiplex PCR. Results: All of the collected triatomines were R. montenegrensis. The analysis confi rmed that all of the adults were infected with the epimastigote form of T. rangeli. Conclusions: This report of a new vector of T. rangeli raises a warning for the State of Rondônia because the simultaneous presence of T. rangeli with T. cruzi in the same geographic region enables the occurrence of mixed infections in hosts and vectors, which complicates the differential diagnosis.

First report of Rhodnius montenegrensis (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) in the State of Acre, Brazil

“…It is believed that the insects may have been attracted by the light from the residence. The species R. montenegrensis has been described as occurring in palms of genus Attalea (10) and Orbignya (11) , similar to other species of the genus Rhodnius (2) (12) , demonstrating the ecological importance of palm trees for these triatomines.…”

“…These insects were initially identifi ed as Rhodnius robustus; however, subsequent studies showed that R. montenegrensis was a new species distinct from R. robustus (10) (11) .…”

“…Surrounding areas, such as Bolivia and the Brazilians States of Amazonas and Rondônia, have 16, 10, and 6 different species, respectively (5) (8) (11) (12) (13) . Therefore, further studies are needed to determine the triatomine fauna and their distributions throughout the state, particularly for species of the genus Rhodnius, which facilitate autochthonous transmission of American trypanosomiasis (8) and are vectors of Trypanosoma rangeli, which is responsible for the occurrence of more than 2,700 human cases of rangeliosis (10) , with cases in the States of Amazonas and Bahia, Brazil (14) (15) .…”

Susceptibilidad de diferentes especies de Rhodnius (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) a una cepa brasileña de Trypanosoma rangeli (SC58/KP1-)

“…Then, they become infective to the vertebrate host through the bite of the insect vector (1)(2)(3). Rhodnius specimens are particularly susceptible to infection with T. rangeli; 13 of 19 Rhodnius species were reported to be infected with this parasite (4,5).…”

Karyotype of Rhodnius montenegrensis (Hemiptera, Triatominae)

“…Recently, da Rosa et al (2012 described the species Rhodnius montenegrensis as related to R. robustus that belongs to R. prolixus complex. This species was found to be infected by the protozoan Trypanosoma rangeli (Meneguetti et al, 2014). Therefore, in order to contribute to karyosystematic study of the tribe Rhodniini, this study describes the number of chromosomes and compares the karyotype of the species R. montenegrensis with all other species of the tribe, in order to determine karyotypic evolution in the tribe Rhodniini.…”