Low Trypanosoma cruzi transmission risk to humans in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas

Kyndall C Dye-Braumuller; M Katherine Lynn; Rodion Gorchakov; Sarah M Gunter; Rebecca M Berry; Kristy O Murray; Melissa S Nolan

doi:10.1016/j.parepi.2020.e00180

Low Trypanosoma cruzi transmission risk to humans in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas

Parasite Epidemiol Control. 2020 Sep 9:11:e00180. doi: 10.1016/j.parepi.2020.e00180. eCollection 2020 Nov.

Authors

Kyndall C Dye-Braumuller^{1

2}, M Katherine Lynn¹, Rodion Gorchakov³, Sarah M Gunter³, Rebecca M Berry³, Kristy O Murray³, Melissa S Nolan^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
² Harris County Public Health, Houston, TX, USA.
³ Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.

Abstract

In the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, reports of domestic triatomine bites were common (67%), with 36% of residentially collected triatomines positive for Trypanosoma cruzi. Despite the transmission potential, no human infections were detected. Collected Triatoma rubida species were themselves frequently parasitized with mites.

Keywords: Chagas disease; Ectoparasites; Human infection; Mites; Pimeliaphilus; Texas; Triatoma gerstaeckeri; Triatoma protracta; Triatoma rubida; Trypanosoma cruzi.

Grants and funding

R03 AI126100/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States