Triatomines outside the Americas: a comprehensive dataset for the global surveillance of Chagas disease vectors
Chagas disease is caused by <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i>, which is transmitted to mammals, including humans, mainly by insects of the subfamily Triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). Also known as "kissing bugs", the subfamily includes 159 species in 18 genera and five tribes. Although most species are in the Americas, here we present the first compilation of non-American triatomine occurrences. The data (396 records) corresponds to 16 species of the genera <i>Linschosteus</i> and <i>Triatoma</i> from Africa, Asia, and Oceania collected between 1926 and 2022, and include verified records with geographic coordinates, collection dates, and ecological information. The key novelties of our dataset regard (i) temporal and geographical updates of non-American species, (ii) records of <i>T. rubrofasciata</i> hundreds of kilometers inland, and (iii) geographical records of the last two described <i>Triatoma</i> species (<i>T. atrata</i> and <i>T. picta</i>). Our resource supports global surveillance, ecological modeling, and risk assessment by providing evidence of potential vectors for Chagas disease control outside the Americas.
Authors
- María Eugenia Vicente (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5072-4694)
- Agustín Balsalobre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4690-7903)
- Romina Valente (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8734-6092)
- Gerardo A. Martí (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9442-2559)
- Emiliano Aldo Bruno
- Q Liu
- Soledad Ceccarelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9790-0157)
- Xiao‐Nong Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1417-8427)
- Di Wu
- S. Emilia Barboza
Institutions
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR)
- Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas (AR)
- Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán (AR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Gigabyte
- Published
- 2025-08-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.46471/gigabyte.163
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Trypanosoma species research and implications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.35
Funders
- Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica