INIBIOLP   05426
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES BIOQUIMICAS DE LA PLATA "PROF. DR. RODOLFO R. BRENNER"
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
A new tool against pyrethroid-resistant Triatoma infestans.
Autor/es:
A N. LORENZO-FIGUEIRAS; N. PEDRINI; J R. GIROTTI; S J. MIJAILOVSKY; C. CAMBIASSO; M P. JUÁREZ
Lugar:
Vicosa, MG, Brasil
Reunión:
Congreso; IV Encotro Brasileiro de Ecologia Química; 2009
Institución organizadora:
Soc. Brasilera de Ecología Químcia
Resumen:
A new tool against pyrethroid-resistant Triatoma infestans. Lorenzo-Figueiras A N, Pedrini N, Girotti J R, Mijailovsky SJ, Cambiasso C, and Juárez M P. 1Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, UBA, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina; 2Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, UNLP, La Plata, Argentina. Chagas disease is the most relevant parasitic disease in Latin America, with current estimates of ~10 million people infected and ~40 million at risk. Current strategies to control Triatoma infestans, based on residual chemical insecticide application, are threatened by the emergence of pyrethroid-resistance. Among alternative control tools, we investigated the potential of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana in the field. A “trap and kill” device, based on manipulating T. infestans behavior, was designed in order to help contact with a virulent strain of B. bassiana. The device consisted in a box containing a CO2 source, a known blood-sucking insect attractant, and a contact pheromone, combined with a powdered formulation of B. bassiana conidia. The trap was tested in field assays performed in houses from two rural villages in the Argentina/Bolivia border infested with pyrethroid-resistant insects. After one intervention, more than 50% of the collected bugs were killed by fungal infection. Based on available T. infestans population models, we estimated the impact of the bioinsecticide performance in reducing the risk of acquiring the parasite infection. The potential T. cruzi transmission risk index, defined as the maximum number of risky bites a human can receive per night, was estimated to drop from 5.2 to 2.4. According to this model, a second bioinsecticide application is expected to reduce the infection risk to 0.88 bites per human per night, and further decline thereafter. This approach might also prove useful at different settings, e.g. peridomiciliary environments where current tactics and procedures are reported to fail. These results might help to provide a safe and efficient alternative to overcome bug pyrethroid-resistance, and might be useful to control other Chagas disease vectors as well.