A reduction in ecological niche for Trypanosoma cruzi-infected triatomine bugs.
Guiehdani VillalobosAngela Nava-BolañosJosé A De Fuentes-VicenteJuan Luis Téllez-RendónHerón HuertaFernando Martínez-HernándezMaya Rocha-OrtegaAna E Gutiérrez-CabreraCarlos N Ibarra-CerdeñaFederico EscobarPublished in: Parasites & vectors (2019)
Trypanosoma cruzi may have selected for a restricted niche amplitude in triatomines, although we are unaware of the underlying reasons. Possibly the fact that T. cruzi infection bears a fitness cost for triatomines is what narrows the niche breadth of the insects. Our results imply that Chagas control programmes should consider whether bugs are infected in models of triatomine distribution.