CICYTTP   12500
CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION CIENTIFICA Y DE TRANSFERENCIA TECNOLOGICA A LA PRODUCCION
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Novel repellents for the blood-sucking insects Rhodnius prolixus and Triatoma infestans, vectors of Chagas disease
Autor/es:
GUERENSTEIN, PABLO; RAMÍREZ, MELANIE; MOLINA, JORGE; ORTIZ, MARIO I.
Revista:
PARASITES AND VECTORS
Editorial:
BIOMED CENTRAL LTD
Referencias:
Año: 2020 vol. 13
ISSN:
1756-3305
Resumen:
AbstractBackground: Studying the behavioral response of blood-sucking disease-vector insects to potentially repellent volatile compounds could shed light on the development of new control strategies. Volatiles released by human facial skin microbiota play different roles in the host-seeking behavior of triatomines. We assessed the repellency effect of such compounds of bacterial origin on Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus, two important vectors of Chagasdisease in Latin America.Methods: Using an exposure device, insects were presented to human odor alone (control) and in the presence ofthree individual test compounds (2-mercaptoethanol, dimethyl sulfide and 2-phenylethanol, the latter only tested inR. prolixus) and the gold-standard repellent NN-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET). We quantified the time the insectsspent in the proximity of the host and determined if any of the compounds evaluated affected the behavior of theinsects.Results: We found volatiles that significantly reduced the time spent in the proximity of the host. These were 2-phenylethanoland 2-mercaptoethanol for R. prolixus, and dimethyl sulfide and 2-mercaptoethanol for T. infestans. Such aneffect was also observed in both species when DEET was presented, although only at the higher doses tested.Conclusions: The new repellents modulated the behavior of two Chagas disease vectors belonging to two differenttriatomine tribes, and this was achieved using a dose up to three orders of magnitude lower than that needed toevoke the same effect with DEET. Future efforts in understanding the mechanism of action of repellent compoundssuch as 2-mercaptoethanol, as well as an assessment of their temporal and spatial repellent properties, could lead tothe development of novel control strategies for these insect vectors, refractory to DEET.