Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Quantitative 3D Imaging of Trypanosoma cruzi-Infected Cells, Dormant Amastigotes, and T Cells in Intact Clarified Organs
Published on: June 23, 2022
Survival and Transstadial Persistence of Trypanosoma cruzi in the bed bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)
Brittny N Blakely1, Stephen F Hanson1, Alvaro Romero1
1Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM.
Abstract:
Bed bug populations are increasing around the world at an alarming rate and have become a major public health concern. The appearance of bed bug populations in areas where Chagas disease is endemic raises questions about the role of these insects in the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of the disease. In a series of laboratory evaluations, bed bug adults and nymphs were experimentally fed with T. cruzi-infected blood to assess the ability of T. cruzi to survive inside the bed bug and throughout the insect's molting process. Live T. cruzi were observed in gut contents of experimentally infected bed bug adults via light microscopy and the identity of the parasite was confirmed via polymerase chain reaction analysis. T. cruzi persisted at least 97-d postinfection in adult bed bugs. Nymphal stage bed bugs that were infected with T. cruzi maintained the parasite after molting, indicating that transstadial passage of T. cruzi in bed bugs took place. This report provides further evidence of acquisition, maintenance, and for the first time, transstadial persistence of T. cruzi in bed bugs.
Related Concept Videos
Capillary Beds
Capillaries connect arterioles, small branches of arteries, to venules,...
Survival Curves
The Kaplan-Meier estimator is the most common method for constructing survival curves. This...
Survival Tree
Building a Survival Tree
Constructing a...
Introduction To Survival Analysis
The primary goal of survival analysis is to estimate survival time—the time...
Comparing the Survival Analysis of Two or More Groups
Truncation in Survival Analysis
Left truncation occurs when individuals who experienced the event of interest before a certain time are not included in the study. This is often due to a "delayed entry" into the study where only those who survive until a certain entry point are...

