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On palms, bugs, and Chagas disease in the Americas
Fernando Abad-Franch1, Marli M Lima2, Otília Sarquis2
1Laboratório de Ecologia de Doenças Transmissíveis na Amazônia, Instituto Leônidas e Maria Deane - Fiocruz, Rua Teresina 476, Manaus 69057-070, Amazonas, Brazil; Laboratório de Triatomíneos e Epidemiologia da Doença de Chagas, Centro de Pesquisa René Rachou - Fiocruz, Av. Augusto de Lima 1715, Belo Horizonte 30190-002, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Acta Tropica
|July 22, 2015
Summary
Palms harbor triatomine bugs, vectors of Chagas disease, in the Americas. Understanding palm infestation patterns is crucial for preventing Trypanosoma cruzi transmission to humans, especially in rural and urban areas.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Entomology
- Public Health
Background:
- Palms are widespread in Neotropical regions, providing habitats for triatomine bugs and Trypanosoma cruzi.
- Triatomine bugs inhabiting palms can invade homes, posing a risk for human Chagas disease transmission.
- Predicting palm infestation by triatomines is vital for Chagas disease control strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively analyze palm infestation by triatomine bugs across the Americas.
- To identify specific palm species and characteristics associated with higher infestation rates.
- To understand the role of palm-triatomine associations in Trypanosoma cruzi transmission cycles.
Main Methods:
- Reanalyzed published and unpublished records of palm infestation.
- Conducted literature reviews on triatomine-palm associations.
- Employed site-occupancy modeling (SOM) for 3590 non-destructively sampled palms.
- Utilized standard statistics for 2940 felled-and-dissected palms.
Main Results:
- Thirty-eight palm species infested by approximately 39 triatomine species were identified across the Americas.
- Overall palm infestation rates ranged from 49.1-55.3% (SOM) to 62.6-66.1% (dissection).
- Large-crowned palms (e.g., Attalea, Acrocomia) and some medium-crowned palms (e.g., Copernicia, Butia) showed higher infestation; slender palms (e.g., Euterpe) hosted vertebrate nests.
- Infestation was generally higher in rural areas but also occurred in urban settings.
Conclusions:
- Palms serve as critical habitats for triatomine vectors and reservoirs for Trypanosoma cruzi, linking sylvatic and domestic transmission cycles.
- Palm infestation patterns vary significantly by palm species, size, crown complexity, and geographic region.
- Continued human exposure to palm-associated triatomines, even in urban environments, poses an ongoing risk for Chagas disease transmission.
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