Domiciliary populations of triatomine bugs have been successfully controlled by spraying of pyrethroid insecticides across large parts of Latin America, contributing to reductions in their distribution from an estimated 6.28 million km 2 in the 1960s to less than 1 million km 2 today 10. Without a vaccine or highly efficacious treatment options for adults 5, 6, accurate detection of triatomine-infested houses and residual insecticide spraying of domestic and peri-domestic structures are crucial to prevent new cases 7, 8, 9. Human disease occurs when infected triatomine faeces enter through intact mucosa or abraded skin, causing an initial asymptomatic or non-specific self-limiting febrile illness, followed by life-long infection and potentially fatal cardiomyopathy (30–40% of infected individuals) 4. The geographical range of the aetiological agent, Trypanosoma cruzi, extends from the southern USA to Argentinean Patagonia, where it is transmitted by triatomine bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) to at least eight orders of domestic, synanthropic and sylvatic mammalian hosts 2, 3. ![]() eDNA collection requires virtually no skills or resources in situ and therefore has the potential to be implemented in endemic communities as part of citizen science initiatives to control Chagas disease transmission.Ĭhagas disease remains the most important parasitic infection in Latin America, responsible for the loss of 275,000 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2019 1. eDNA detection should not yet replace current surveillance tools, but instead be evaluated in parallel as a more sensitive, higher-throughput, lower cost alternative. prolixus eDNA in infested households and may be preferable due to their lower cost. Additionally, cotton-tipped swabs are a feasible tool for field sampling of both T. ![]() Study findings demonstrated that Rhodnius prolixus eDNA, collected on FTA cards, can be detected at temperatures between 21 and 32 ☌, when deposited by individual, recently blood-fed nymphs. We evaluated the use of FTA cards or cotton-tipped swabs to develop a low-technology, non-invasive method of detecting environmental DNA (eDNA) from both triatomine bugs and Trypanosoma cruzi for use in household surveillance in eastern Colombia, an endemic region for Chagas disease. However, most current detection methods are laborious, lack standardization, have substantial operational costs and limited sensitivity, especially when triatomine bug densities are low or highly focal. ![]() Chagas disease vector control relies on prompt, accurate identification of houses infested with triatomine bugs for targeted insecticide spraying.
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