Development of a device to capture Triatoma infestans, a vector of Chagas disease: performance of a baited sticky climbing trap in the presence of a host

DI BENEDETTO INGRID MARIA DESIREE; MARTINEZ BENINGAZA, ANDREA; IBARRA BOUZADA, LUCÍA; GUERENSTEIN, PABLO

Buenos Aires

Congreso; VII Congress of the Latin American Association of the Chemical Ecology; 2023

Latin American Association of Chemical Ecology

In South America, the hematophagous insect Triatoma infestans is the primary vector ofChagas disease. While available bug-detection methods exhibit low sensitivity, the interruption ofvector-borne transmission through insecticide use currently has limited impact. The aim of this studywas to evaluate the performance of a sticky climbing trap (CT), baited with a synthetic host-odor lure(L (+) lactic acid, valeric acid, and ammonia) plus a yeast culture (a mixture of dry yeast, sucrose,and water) as a source of CO2 (T), to attract and capture T. infestans in the presence of a host. Thetraps were tested in three experimental boxes (EB1-3) simultaneously. EB1 contained, at one side, aCT with a mouse (C+) and, at the opposite side, an empty CT (C-). EB2 contained a CT with thesynthetic odor bait (T) and an empty CT (C-). EB3 contained a CT with T and a CT with (C+). Ineach experimental box, 10 fourth-instar starved nymphs of T. infestans were released. Experimentslasted a single night and eight replicates were conducted. In EB1 C+ captured 65% of the bugs whileC- 20%. In EB2, T captured 20% of the bugs while C- 10%. In EB3 C+ captured 45% of the bugswhile T 35%. The CT baited with synthetic odor is effective in capturing T. infestans in the presenceof a natural host. Moreover, in these conditions the capture by T is higher respect to the captureobtained in absence of host (may be due to an increased activation of the insects), and this isaccompanied by a decrease in the capture by C+ respect to the capture obtained when T was absent.The data obtained so far suggest that the trap baited with synthetic odor is effective in the presenceof a host. These results are encouraging for optimizing a bug surveillance tool.