Colonization of the rectum of Triatoma infestans by Trypanosoma cruzi: influence of starvation studied by scanning electron microscopy.

The colonization of the different regions of the rectum of Triatoma infestans by a Trypanosoma cruzi strain (zymodeme I) originating from the same locality as the bugs was studied by scanning electron microscopy after different periods of starvation of the bugs. Throughout the first 16 weeks no changes in colonization pattern could be observed. Parasite density was always minimal at the midgut/rectal junction and highest on the rectal pads; it was at a similar level in the other three regions of the rectum. Twenty weeks after feeding, a proportion of the bugs had died and in the surviving larvae a decreasing colonization of the cuticle occurred. Nonetheless, despite other regions being flagellate-free, a residual T. cruzi population always remained attached to the rectal pads. No changes in the proportion of trypomastigotes to epimastigotes were observed as starvation progressed.