Detection of in kissing bugs collected from Huizhou City, South China.

BACKGROUND

The blood-feeding behavior of kissing bugs (subfamily Triatominae, family Reduviidae, order Hemiptera) means they are potential vectors of multiple humans pathogens. However, investigations of vector-borne pathogens harbored by kissing bugs are rare.

METHODS

In the current study, 22 adult kissing bugs () were captured in Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, south China. The presence of vector-borne pathogens in the kissing bugs was tested, and the genetic diversity of these potential pathogens was investigated.

RESULTS

All the kissing bugs were negative for Anaplasmataceae bacteria, , and . DNA was detected in 36.4% (8/22) of the kissing bugs. The sequences of the genes divided into two clades in a phylogenetic tree, with close relationships to and uncultured sp. clone MYR-283, respectively. All the sequences were closely related to those of (identity 98.75%-100%). The and sequences were most closely related to those of , a recognized human pathogen, with nucleotide similarities of 98.70%-100% and 99.45%-100%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

We report the detection of DNA in kissing bugs in southern China. Although the sample size is limited, the high positive rate of detection of DNA, the close relationship of the gene sequences to those of zoonotic species, and the distribution of the kissing bugs near human residences, hint at a risk to public health.