Screening Triatoma Virus in Insectaries of Latin America

BALSALOBRE, A; G. A. MARTI; MARÍA G. ECHEVERRIA; MARÍA L. SUSEVICH; CECCARELLI S.

Cochabamba

Workshop; II International Workshop on Chagas Disease, triatomine vectors, Trypanosoma cruzi, and Triatoma virus; 2012

CYTED-RedTrV (Acción 209RT0364)

Triatoma virus (TrV) is a small, non-enveloped virus, that has a +ssRNA genome and belong to Dicistroviridae family. TrV infects haematophagous triatomine insects (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), vectors of American Trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease). This virus is mainly transmitted horizontally, producing both lethal and sublethal effects on laboratory insect colonies. Different species of triatomines native from different regions of Latin America are currently reared in research laboratories, and infection of colonies with natural pathogens can occur and produce damage to the insect populations. In this work we propose a mathematical model to estimate the sample size for the detection of inadvertent infections. The model is based on standard procedures for rearing triatomines, and probabilistic variables associated to horizontal transmission of the pathogen. We applied this model to screen for TrV infection in groups of triatomines belonging to 31 different species belonging to insectaries of 13 Latin American countries. We found that samples coming from insectaries from Argentina were the only ones showing infection with TrV.