Authors

M Llewellyn¹;  ¹ University of Glasgow , UK

Discussion

Trypanosoma cruzi causes Chagas disease, a neglected disease even amongst the neglected tropical diseases. Chagas disease is spread by triatomine bugs, a group of reduviids that have made the switch to haematophagy. Chagas disease kills > 10,000 annually, with 6-7 million people infected, principally in South and Central America. Little is understood about the genomic epidemiology of Chagas disease and its vectors. The parasite is highly genetically diverse, with six discrete typing units (DTUs) reported and substantial genetic diversity also reported with these DTUs. Chagas disease prognosis is similarly variable, but, as yet, there is no clear link between parasite genotype and disease outcome. Over 100 species of triatomine vectors species are thought to transmit Chagas disease, but a smaller number drive most human transmission. Since the eradication of major domestic species in the late 20th century, several ‘secondary’ vectors species are in the process of re-colonising. In this talk, I’ll present our work characterising the population genomics of T. cruzi and it vectors, exploring parasite mating systems, invasion of the domestic setting and highlighting the need for new resources and perspectives to improve our understanding of the parasite and to achieve its sustainable control.