Chagas disease, an anthropozoonosis endemic to Latin America, is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and is a serious public health concern. We investigated the natural infection of triatomine bugs, genotyped T. cruzi, and identified the blood meal sources of the infected vectors in the Medio Araguaia region of Mato Grosso, Brazil. In total, 235 triatomines were identified. The highest triatomine occurrence (95.7%) was observed in the municipality of Barra do Garças. The most prevalent species was Triatoma williami (89.7%), followed by Rhodnius neglectus (8.8%), Panstrongylus geniculatus (0.88%), and Panstrongylus diasi (0.44%). Barra do Garças showed a high rate of natural infection by T. cruzi (65.7%). Four discrete typing units were identified in the infected insects: TcIV and TcII strains in T. williami, and TcI and TcIII associated with R. neglectus and P. geniculatus, respectively. Regarding blood meal sources, T. williami, P. geniculatus, and R. neglectus predominantly fed on birds and rodents. However, human blood was detected in 32.8% of the insects. Overall, these findings indicate a high risk of Chagas disease vector transmission in the municipality of Barra do Garças, highlighting the need for innovative approaches to control and prevent this disease.
Santos et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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