Occurrences of triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) and first reports of Panstrongylus geniculatus in urban environments in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

This note reports on occurrences of triatomine species in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, registered between 1988 and 2017. Records of triatomines captured in Sao Paulo are based on specimens received spontaneously from Health Surveillance Centers, Health Centers and Zoonosis Control Centers in the city as well as from citizens. Species were identified morphologically at the Public Health Entomology Laboratory, Faculty of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, where the triatomines, which are vectors of Chagas disease, were tested for Trypanosoma cruzi infection. The first reported occurrence of triatomine bugs in urban Sao Paulo was in 1988. The specimen, which was captured in Jardim Sao Luiz district, was from the genus Panstrongylus and was registered as Panstrongylus sp. but was not sexed. Since this first recorded occurrence, the following species have been found in the city: Panstrongylus geniculatus (2 occurrences), P. megistus (15 occurrences), Triatoma infestans (1 occurrence) and T. sordida (3 occurrences). In this paper, the importance of reporting occurrences of triatomine bugs in the city of Sao Paulo, one of the largest metropolis in the world, is discussed with an emphasis on P. megistus. The occurrences discussed here indicate the importance of entomological surveillance for these vectors even in urban centers although the possibility of vector transmission of Chagas disease in these centers is very low.

Preliminary Characterization of Triatomine Bug Blood Meals on the Island of Trinidad Reveals Opportunistic Feeding Behavior on Both Human and Animal Hosts

“…Additionally, P. geniculatus is no longer limited to forested areas; in the Metropolitan district of Caracas, Venezuela, thousands of P. geniculatus were found in both poor and wealthy areas of 31 out of 32 parishes, with nymphs found in 14 of the parishes. The species has also been reported in urban centers in Brazil (Sao Paulo [ 44 ] and Rio de Janeiro [ 45 ]) and Bolivia (Cochabamba [ 24 ]).…”

In the heart of the city: Trypanosoma cruzi infection prevalence in rodents across New Orleans

“…A number of hosts, for example, are commensal pests that frequently occur in urban areas [2]. Some triatomine vectors carrying T. cruzi have been detected in major city centers [15][16][17][18][19], and others are known to have become adapted to urban habitats [10,14]. Evidence of interactive connectivity between reservoirs and vectors [20] has reinforced concerns that T. cruzi can readily invade cities from peri-urban or peripheral natural areas [21,22].…”

Colonization by Panstrongylus megistus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) in an urban park in the city of São Paulo

“…Dogs, humans, birds, and opossums have served as food sources for these triatomines. The occurrences, which used to be sporadic at the beginning of the 2010s 6 , are nowadays frequent in municipalities of this region. Further, municipalities which had never had reports of triatomines are now reporting them 15 .…”

“…In the city of São Paulo, sporadic findings of triatomine bugs have been reported since the 1990s, without colonization, and P. megistus is the species with the highest number of records 6 . The first colonization of this species in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo occurred in the municipality of Carapicuíba in 2018, in a house located in a condominium surrounded by vegetation 7 .…”