Atlas of Mexican Triatominae (Reduviidae: Hemiptera) and vector transmission of Chagas disease

Chagas disease is one of the most important yet neglected parasitic diseases inMexico and is transmitted by Triatominae. Nineteen of the 31 Mexican triatominespecies have been consistently found to invade human houses and all have been foundto be naturally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. The present paperaims to produce a state-of-knowledge atlas of Mexican triatomines and analyse theirgeographic associations with T. cruzi, human demographics andlandscape modification. Ecological niche models (ENMs) were constructed for the 19species with more than 10 records in North America, as well as for T.cruzi. The 2010 Mexican national census and the 2007 National ForestryInventory were used to analyse overlap patterns with ENMs. Niche breadth was greatestin species from the semiarid Nearctic Region, whereas species richness was associatedwith topographic heterogeneity in the Neotropical Region, particularly along thePacific Coast. Three species, Triatoma longipennis, Triatomamexicana and Triatoma barberi, overlapped with thegreatest numbers of human communities, but these communities had the lowestrural/urban population ratios. Triatomine vectors have urbanised in most regions,demonstrating a high tolerance to human-modified habitats and broadened historicalranges, exposing more than 88% of the Mexican population and leaving few areas inMexico without the potential for T. cruzi transmission.