INVESTIGADORES
GUERENSTEIN Pablo Gustavo
artículos
Título:
Infection of Kissing Bugs with Trypanosoma cruzi, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Autor/es:
C E REISENMAN; G LAWRENCE; P G GUERENSTEIN; T GREGORY; E DOTSON; J G HILDEBRAND
Revista:
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Editorial:
CENTERS DISEASE CONTROL
Referencias:
Lugar: Atlanta; Año: 2010 vol. 16 p. 400 - 405
ISSN:
1080-6040
Resumen:
Triatomine insects (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), commonly known
as kissing bugs, are a potential health problem in the southwestern United
States as possible vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of
Chagas disease. Although this disease has been traditionally restricted to
Latin America, a small number of vector-transmitted autochthonous US cases have
been reported. Because triatomine bugs and infected mammalian reservoirs are
plentiful in southern Arizona, we collected triatomines inside or around human
houses in Tucson and analyzed the insects using molecular techniques to
determine whether they were infected with T. cruzi. We found that 41.5%
of collected bugs (n = 164) were infected with T. cruzi, and that 63% of
the collection sites (n = 22) yielded >1 infected specimens. Although
many factors may contribute to the lack of reported cases in Arizona, these
results indicate that the risk for infection in this region may be higher than
previously thought.