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This is an introductory lecture
about the biology and control
of triatomine bugs, the vectors
of Chagas disease in Latin America.
I am Chris Schofield
from the London School
of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
I coordinate the ECLAT
network, which was set up
to provide technical
and research support
for the various
multinational control
initiatives against Chagas disease.
This lecture is designed to show the
basic biology of triatomine bugs,
their importance as
vectors of Chagas disease,
and the rationale behind
the multinational programs
against them.
0:37
So, here are the bugs.
This is Triatoma infestans.
This is the main
domestic vector species
in the southern part
of South America.
This is just one block from
the wall of a house in Chile
that has been pulled
out and turned over
to give an idea of the
sheer quantity of bugs
that can live in someone's house.
These bugs are large.
Adults can be up to 2
and 1/2 centimeters long.
They're very unpleasant, and
they take a lot of blood,
contributing to chronic
iron deficiency anemia.
But they also transmit Trypanosoma
cruzi, the causative agent
of Chagas disease, which is also
known as American Trypanosomiasis.
No one should have to live with
these bugs in their houses.
1:22
Chagas disease takes its name from
Brazilian clinician Carlos Chagas,
who first described
the disease in 1909.
The centenary of his
discovery is celebrated
in this postage stamp
issued by Brazil in 2009.
It shows Chagas in the
village of Lassance,
where he first encountered the
bugs and the disease they transmit.
Chagas was a remarkable man
and an outstanding scientist.
He described the disease, its
causative agent, the vectors,
and some of the reservoir hosts.
He also pioneered
attempts to control it,
recognizing that the
key to disease control
was to eliminate the vector insects.
