Feeding patterns of Triatoma vitticeps in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Gonçalves, Teresa Cristina M
• Data de Publicação: 2000
• Outros Autores: Rocha, Dayse S, Cunha, Rodolfo A
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista de Saúde Pública
• Texto Completo: https://www.revistas.usp.br/rsp/article/view/25032
• topic: Hábitos alimentares; Triatoma^i2^sparasitolo; Trypanosoma cruzi^i2^sisolamento e purifica; Insetos vetores; Ecologia de vetores; Triatoma vitticeps; Food habits; Triatoma^i1^sparasitol; Trypanosoma cruzi^i1^sisolation and purificat; Insect vectors; Ecology of vectors; Triatoma vitticeps

OBJECTIVE: Feeding patterns of triatomines have contributed to elucidate its biology. Triatoma vitticeps, naturally infected with T. cruzi, has been found in domiciles. Its behavior and epidemiological patterns were investigated. METHODS: One-hundred and twenty two specimens of T. vitticeps were captured from February 1989 to April 1993 in two areas of Triunfo municipality, a subdistrict of Santa Maria Madalena municipal district, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The insects were dissected and their intestinal contents were removed and tested. It was used antisera from: man, cow, horse, dog, pig, armadillo, opossum, rodent, and bird. RESULTS: From the total analyzed, 79 were positive and 43 were negative to the nine antisera tested: armadillo (30.3%) >; human and pig (13.1%) >; bird and dog (11.5%) >; horse (5.7%) >; opossum (4.9%) >; rodent (4.1%) >; cow (3.3%). Blood meals ranged from 0 to 4 and 6 in the following distribution: 0 = 25.41%; 1 = 45.08%; 2 = 10.66%; 3 = 6.56%; 4 = 1.64%, and 6 = 0.82%. Nine of the 122 insects captured were not examined, 74 (65.54%) were positive for T. cruzi infection and 39 (34.51%) were negative. CONCLUSIONS: These results identified the T. vitticeps as being a sylvatic species and trypanosomiasis as being an enzootic disease. Epidemiological vigilance will be important to provide more information regarding the behavior of the species