Ecological patterns of blood-feeding by kissing-bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae)

Abstract

Host use by vectors is important in understanding the transmission of zoonotic diseases, which can affect humans, wildlife and domestic animals. Here, a synthesis of host exploitation patterns by kissing-bugs, vectors of Chagas disease, is presented. For this synthesis, an extensive literature review restricted to feeding sources analysed by precipitin tests was conducted. Modern tools from community ecology and multivariate statistics were used to determine patterns of segregation in host use. Rather than innate preferences for host species, host use by kissing-bugs is influenced by the habitats they colonise. One of the major limitations of studies on kissing-bug foraging has been the exclusive focus on the dominant vector species. We propose that expanding foraging studies to consider the community of vectors will substantially increase the understanding of Chagas disease transmission ecology. Our results indicate that host accessibility is a major factor that shapes the blood-foraging patterns of kissing-bugs. Therefore, from an applied perspective, measures that are directed at disrupting the contact between humans and kissing-bugs, such as housing improvement, are among the most desirable strategies for Chagas disease control.Key words: foraging -null models -diet analysis -multivariate statistics -Chagas disease -niche breadth Blood-feeding patterns of triatomines • Jorge Eduardo Rabinovich et al. 480 Several aspects of feeding-related behaviour in triatomines have also been well studied. Such aspects include feeding preferences (Quintal & Polanco 1977), avoidance of excessive warming during feeding (Lazzari et al. 2009), importance of nutritional status in flight initiation and dispersal (Lehane & Schofield 1982, Lehane et al. 1992, Noireau & Dujardin 2001, Emmanuelle-Machado et al. 2002, Ceballos et al. 2005, avoidance of predators during feeding (Bodin et al. 2009a, b), frequency and size of the blood intake (Maddrell 1963, Wood 1976, Montenegro & Pasina 1984, Maifrino et al. 1986, Pietrokovsky et al. 1996, Pereira et al. 1998, control of meal size (Bennet-Clark 1963b) and the relationship between feeding and defecation patterns as well as other aspects of feeding with epidemiological importance (Wood 1951, Dias 1956, Zeledón et al. 1970, 1977, Da Rocha e Silva et al. 1979, Crocco & Catalá 1996, Kollien & Schaub 1998, Zabala & D' Antonio 1988, Braga & Lima 1999, Aldana et al. 2001, Emmanuelle-Machado et al. 2002, Nattero et al. 2002, Almeida et al. 2003, Arévalo et al. 2007, Rodriguez et al. 2008, Klotz et al. 2009).Studies have been conducted on the relationship between the impacts of the triatomine feeding process and demographic parameters (Davies 1990, Malo et al. 1993, Emmanuelle-Machado et al. 2002, mortality and fecundity (Goodchild 1955, Hays 1965, Regis 1977, Patterson 1979, Catalá de Montenegro 1989, Braga et al. 1998, Braga & Lima 2001, Davey 2007, development time (Martinez-Ibarra et al. 2003, Martinez-Ibarra & Novelo-López 2004, resistance to starvation (Gajardo Tobar 1952,...

Vector Blood Meals Are an Early Indicator of the Effectiveness of the Ecohealth Approach in Halting Chagas Transmission in Guatemala

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