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Section Symposium

Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology

Poster Display

Born to Be Wild: Investigating Wildlife-Arthropod Vector Interactions in a One Health Context

Triatomine host preference in an experimental cafeteria: The impact of Trypanosoma cruzi infections

Tuesday, November 11, 2025
10:30 AM - 10:35 AM Pacific
Location: Oregon Convention Center, Portland Ballroom 255, OCC
Poster Display
Hematophagous triatomine vectors of the Chagas disease parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, have a wide bloodmeal host breadth but only mammals are known to be parasite-competent reservoirs. Accordingly, the transmission of T. cruzi is dependent on triatomines encountering mammalian hosts. We hypothesize T. cruzi-infected triatomines exhibit a preference for mammalian versus non-mammalian hosts, as compared to uninfected triatomines. We used a dual-choice olfactometer to present individual, T. cruzi-infected and uninfected, starved triatomines (Triatoma gerstaeckeri) to pairwise combinations of no host, dog, human, and chicken. We found that uninfected T. gerstaeckeri preferred dogs over chickens and humans, but T. cruzi-infected T. gerstaeckeri had no host preference. Additionally, T. cruzi-infected T. gerstaeckeri took less time to begin advancing towards hosts (average of 522 s ± 577 s vs 801 s ± 704 s) and spent time on both sides of the olfactometer. Lastly, we also tested Rhodnius prolixus in the olfactometer and found no clear preference, but they did advance towards hosts more often (63.2% vs 47.1%) and within less time compared to T. gerstaeckeri. These documented behavioral differences between triatomine species and T. cruzi infection status illustrate that R. prolixus and T. cruzi-infected T. gerstaeckeri increased locomotion in the presence of hosts may promote increased transmission via ingestion of a T. cruzi-infected triatomines.