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Triatoma infestans, commonly called winchuka or vinchuca in Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Chile, barbeiro in Brazil, chipo in Venezuela and also known as "kissing bug" or "barber bug" in English, is a blood-sucking bug (like virtually all the members of its subfamily Triatominae) and the most important vector of Trypanosoma cruzi which can lead to Chagas disease. It is widespread in the Southern Cone countries of South America. Darwin is speculated to have died from chronic Chagas disease.

Distribution

T. infestans has both a wide range of habitats/ecologies and geographic areas it inhabits - the former being the reason for the latter. T. sordida, T. brasiliensis, and T. pseudomaculata.

Biology

Defecation

Defecation is central to the T. cruzi transmission cycle of Triatomines. There is no direct transmission by feeding, instead deposition of parasites is associated with a bloodmeal but occurs solely by defecation. Trumper and Gorla 1991 find transmission to be inversely correlated with vector density: Crowded areas tend to have T. infestans interrupting each other, and interrupted feedings do not provide as much as a completed bloodmeal. T. infestans is unlikely to defecate when not sated and so rarely transmits. Low vector density areas therefore have high rates of transmission.

See also

  • Triatominae
  • Triatoma protracta

References

  • Information on Triatoma infestans and other members of Triatominae, by Andreas Rose
  • Information on Triatominae, by Fernando Otálora-Luna