Entomological indicators and food sources of triatomines in the Brazilian semi-arid region

ABSTRACT Background: Triatomines are biological vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas Disease (CD) and have various mammalian hosts. This study evaluated the entomological indicators and food sources of triatomines in Petrolina in the semi-arid region of Brazil, where CD is endemic. Methods: Triatomines were captured indoors and outdoors through an active search and entomological indices (household and natural infections) were calculated. Parasitological analyses were performed through microscopic visualization using Giemsa-stained insect feces, and DNA sequencing was employed to identify food sources from the gut contents of 82 insects (9.05%) that were better preserved. Results: We captured triatomines (906) in peridomicile (807) and intradomicile (99): Triatoma brasiliensis (84.7%, 767 specimens), Triatoma spp. (8.2%, 74 specimens), T. pseudomaculata (6.5%, 59 specimens), Rhodnius spp. (0.4%, four specimens), R. nasutus (0.1%, one specimen), and T. sordida (0.1%, one specimen). The household infestation index is 11.8%. Thirty-five triatomines were infected (33 T. brasiliensis and two T. pseudomaculata), corresponding to a natural infection index of 3.8%. The identified food sources were human T. pseudomaculata and T. brasiliensis, dogs for T. brasiliensis and rodents (Mus musculus) for T. brasiliensis. Conclusions: The results reinforce the need to intensify CD diagnosis, surveillance, and control actions, as an increase in entomological indices was recorded. Blood from humans and domestic and synanthropic animals was detected in the infected triatomines, suggesting a risk of CD vector transmission in Petrolina. As CD is a zoonosis, multidisciplinary and intersectoral CD surveillance must be conducted in the context of the One Health.

Infectivity of Chordodes nobilii larvae (Gordiida: Nematomorpha) / Infectividad de las larvas de Chordodes nobilii (Gordiida: Nematomorpha)

AbstractThe gordiids are freshwater representatives of the parasite phylum Nematomorpha that function as a link between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In recent years, different ecotoxicologic studies have been made with the South-American gordiid species, Chordodes nobilii, that have demonstrated the capacity of this group to act as a bioindicator of contamination. Despite the Gordiida's ecologic relevance, further studies are still needed to elucidate different aspects of the biology of the class, and among those, the infective capacity, a parameter that can be evaluated by the infection index mean abundance (IIMA). A knowledge of the intrinsic variability in the infective capacity of C. nobilii would warrant priority in order to establish, the range of acceptable responses for normal or standard conditions in the laboratory, and, to compare the criteria among different assays. The objective of this study was to establish a baseline value for the infective capacity for C. nobilii larvae, under controlled laboratory conditions, by employing the IIMA as the evaluation parameter. To that end, we analyzed the infective capacity of C. nobilii larvae that had hatched from different strings of eggs laid in the laboratory by a total of 12 females. The C. nobilii adults were collected from streams within the Argentina Sauce Grande basin, between 2006 and 2009. Once in the laboratory, after mating, the females were placed in individual containers for oviposition. The egg strings obtained from each female were cut in 3 mm long segments; and when free larvae were observed, the segments (N= 90) were placed together with 30 Aedes aegypti larvae for evaluation of the gordiids' infective capacity. After 72 h, the mosquito larvae were observed by microscopy in order to quantify the C. nobilii larvae in body cavities. The IIMAs were calculated as the total number of C. nobilii larvae present divided by total number of A. aegypti larvae examined. For analysis of the IIMAs obtained, the data were grouped according to the female who made the original ovoposition. Our results enabled the corroboration of an ample range of responses in the infective capacity of this species, a characteristic that would normally be linked to the progenitors originating the hatch. Because this relationship prevents the establishment of a baseline for making comparisons among assays with gordiids, through the IIMA as a response parameter, we recommend expressing the IIMA values in each assay relative to their respective controls. These findings also provide evidence for the greater success in infections by certain members of the progeny over others. Finally, on the basis of the results obtained from this study, we stress the relevance of the use of the IIMA as a decisive aspect to be considered in different studies on the biology of Gordiida. Rev. Biol. Trop. 65 (1): 1-8. Epub 2017 March 01.

ResumenLos gordiidos son representantes dulceacuícolas del Phylum parásito Nematomorpha que actúan como un enlace entre ecosistemas acuáticos y terrestres. En años recientes, diferentes estudios ecotoxicológicos se han desarrollado con una especie sudamericana de gordiido, C. nobilii, que ha demostrado la capacidad de este grupo de actuar como bioindicador de contaminación. A pesar de su evidente importancia ecológica, aún se necesitan realizar estudios para dilucidar distintos aspectos de su biología, entre estos, la capacidad infectiva, un parámetro que puede evaluarse utilizando el Índice de Infección Abundancia Media (IIMA). El conocimiento de la variabilidad intrínseca en la capacidad infectiva de C. nobilii merece prioridad con el objeto de establecer el ámbito de respuesta aceptable para condiciones normales o estándar en el laboratorio, y que permita comparar los resultados entre distintos ensayos. El objetivo de este estudio es establecer la línea de base de la capacidad infectiva del gordiido C. nobilii en condiciones controladas de laboratorio, empleando el IIMA como parámetro de evaluación. Con este fin, se analizó la capacidad infectiva de larvas de C. nobilii que eclosionaron de diferentes cordones de huevos depositados por un total de 12 hembras, mantenidas en laboratorio. Los adultos de C. nobilii fueron recolectados de arroyos de la cuenca argentina Sauce Grande, entre 2006 y 2009. Una vez en el laboratorio, después de la cópula, las hembras se ubicaron en recipientes individuales a la espera de la oviposición. Los cordones de huevos obtenidos de cada hembra se cortaron en segmentos de 3 mm de longitud; y cuando las larvas libres fueron observadas al microscopio, los segmentos (N= 90) fueron ubicados junto con 30 larvas de Aedes aegypti para evaluar la capacidad infectiva del gordiido. Después de 72 h, las larvas del mosquito fueron observadas al microscopio para contabilizar las larvas de C. nobilii en las cavidades corporales. El IIMA fue calculado como el número total de larvas de C. nobilii presentes dividido entre el número total de larvas de A. aegypti examinadas. Para el análisis de los IIMAs obtenidos, los datos fueron agrupados de acuerdo a la hembra que hizo la oviposición. Nuestros resultados permiten corroborar un amplio rango de respuesta en la capacidad infectiva de esta especie, que estaría vinculada al origen de la camada. Debido a que no se pudo establecer una línea de base para realizar comparaciones entre estudios en los gordiidos utilizando el IIMA como parámetro de respuesta, se aconseja relativizar los valores de los IIMAs a sus respectivos controles. Estos resultados también pusieron en evidencia la ventaja en el éxito de infección de algunas progenies sobre las restantes. Finalmente, con base en los resultados obtenidos a partir de este estudio se plantea la importancia del uso del IIMA como punto final a considerar en distintos estudios sobre la biología de los gordiida.

Analysis of laboratory animal pathogen infection indexes in Shanghai area / 中国实验动物学报

Objective To more intuitively understand the quality control for laboratory animals and further achie-ving a more scientific and reasonable management of laboratory animals, the infection index as evaluation criteria was intro-duced. Then the best way to calculate infection index was explored in order to more scientifically reflect the infection status of laboratory animals. Methods Infection index, also called the degree of infection, is a qualitative indicator of monito-ring laboratory animal quality. After arranging, analyzing, processing and gathering the data from laboratory animal quality monitoring, the index reflects synthetically the pathogen infection status or trend of a particularly investigated experimental animal population or the development of certain experimental animals. Results In general, the pathogen infection index of mice was slightly decreased, while the pathogen infection index of rats roughly increased year by year. In comparing infec-tion index by different pathogens, the parasite infection index of mice was found to be higher than bacteria and virus infec-tion indexes, while the bacteria infection index of rats was higher than parasite infection index and virus ones. Conclusions The infection index model intuitively reflects the quality control status of laboratory animals. The analysis also reveals that the parasite monitoring of the mice and the bacteria detection of rat needs to be reinforcement. In addition, the index of infection reveals that the pathogen infection of mice is well under control, while that of rats tends to be more serious year by year.

New scenarios of Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in the Orinoco region of Colombia

Rhodnius prolixus, a blood-sucking triatomine with domiciliary anthropophilic habits, is the main vector of Chagas disease. The current paradigm of Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in Columbia includes a sylvatic and domiciliary cycle co-existing with domestic and sylvatic populations of reservoirs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the population densities and relative abundance of triatomines and mammals that may be involved in the sylvatic cycle of Chagas disease to clarify the epidemiological scenario in an endemic area in the province of Casanare. Insect vectors on Attalea butyracea palms were captured using both manual searches and bait traps. The capture of mammals was performed using Sherman and Tomahawk traps. We report an infestation index of 88.5% in 148 palms and an index of T. cruzi natural infection of 60.2% in 269 dissected insects and 11.9% in 160 captured mammals. High population densities of triatomines were observed in the sylvatic environment and there was a high relative abundance of reservoirs in the area, suggesting a stable enzootic cycle. We found no evidence of insect domiciliation. Taken together, these observations suggest that eco-epidemiological factors shape the transmission dynamics of T. cruzi, creating diverse scenarios of disease transmission.