Atlas of Chagas disease vectors in the Americas

Habitats of Triatominae bugs are important from an epidemiological point of view. Each species is related to certain environmental conditions, and its significance as a vector for Trypanosoma cruzi is often linked to its proximity to human dwellings or the infestation of houses, corrals, pigeon or chicken coops, woodpiles, and/or other peridomiciliary sites. The authors of this chapter have agreed to provide a general list of references, mostly devoted either to those publications compiling the scattered bibliography or to some specific papers where a single species was studied, giving compiled bibliography added to the original research. Despite this bibliographical condensation, the list is long enough to provide a general idea about some basic references to each species

Hallazgo de Triatoma platensis Neiva, 1913 (Hemiptera, Triatominae) en el estado brasileno de "Rio Grande do Sul" / Finding of Triatoma platensis Neiva, 1913 (Hemiptera, Triatominae) in the Brazilian state of \"Rio Grande do Sul\"

Triatoma platensis Neiva 1913 (Hemiptera, Triatominae), especie ornitofila, con area de dispercion conocida en Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay y Uruguay es notificada en um primer registro para Brasil. Hallada en el municipio de Uruguaiana (Rio Grande do Sul) en nidos de Anumbius annumbi (Vieillot, 1817) (Passeriformes, Furnariidae) donde cohabitaba con cricetidos de la especie Orizomys flavescens. Ningun ejemplar de los siete colectados se presento infectado por Trypanosoma cruzi.

Seroprevalencia de anticuerpos contra trypanosoma cruzi en 13 departamentos del Uruguay / Seroprevalence of trypanosoma cruzi in 13 deparments of Uruguay

In 1985 a study was undertaken of the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies in 13 departments of Uruguay where transmission of the parasite by the vector Triatoma infestans persists. A total of 5 924 serum samples were selected using a probabilistic method- 3 840 from individuals over the age of 12 (sample I) and 2 084 from subjects who where 12 years old (sample II). The population was classified acording to place of residence (capital city, non-capital city, suburban área, and rural área). The percentage of positive sera detected by indirect immunofluorescence in the different departments ranged from 1 to 11 percent, and overall seroprevalence for the área was 3.4 percent. Based on the results obtained, it was possible to distinguish three áreas: A, which seroprevalence from 6 to 11 percent; B, 2 to 3.2 percent, and C, 1 to 4 percent. In sample II from the Departments of Paysandu, Soriano, Flores, Florida, and Durazno, no cases of Chagas' disease were detected which suggests that there is no active transmission of T. cruzi in this age group in the área studied. The number of persons estimated to have the disease was 36 952, or 1.3 percent of the total population of Uruguay and 4 percent of the population in the área surveyed. These seroprevalence figures are similar to those recorded in the povince of Entre Rios, Argentina, and in the neighboring municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Zelurus femoralis intermedius, Hemiptero entomofago, predador de triatomineos. / Zelurus femoralis intermedius, hemiptera, Redividae, as a predator of triatomidae

Os autores assinalam Zelurus femoralis intermedius (Hemiptera, Rediviidae) como predador de Triatoma infestans, T. rubrovaria e T. circunmaculata, observando que o hemiptero se encontra estreitamente associado aos triatomineos mencionados, em habitats naturais e artificiais no Uruguai Apos o registro de observacoes realizadas em campo e em laboratorio, os autores concluem que em virtude de capacidade predadora, abundancia com que pode ser encontrado no campo, ampla dispersao, seletividade para triatomineos como fonte de alimentacao e possibilidade de reproducao em laboratorio, o Z. femoralis intermedius representa um agente de valor potencial no controle biologico de triatomineos