page_title: Triatoma virus
section_title: Uses
hierarchical_section_title: Triatoma virus / Uses
context_page_description: Triatoma virus is a virus belonging to the insect virus family Dicistroviridae. Within this family, there are currently 3 genera and 15 species of virus. Triatoma virus belongs to the genus Cripavirus. It is non-enveloped and its genetic material is positive-sense, single-stranded RNA. The natural hosts of triatoma virus are invertebrates. TrV is a known pathogen to Triatoma infestans, the major vector of Chagas disease in Argentina which makes triatoma virus a major candidate for biological vector control as opposed to chemical insecticides. Triatoma virus was first discovered in 1984 when a survey of pathogens of triatomes was conducted in the hopes of finding potential biological control methods for T. infestans.
context_section_description: Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. About seven to eight million people are estimated to have Chagas disease in Latin America and there is no known vaccine for the disease. The vector that carries Trypanosoma cruzi is the insect species Triatoma infestans, also known as "kissing bugs". Because it is a pathogen to T. infestans, Triatoma virus has been investigated as an alternate method to control T. infestans population size and their ability transmit T. cruzi. The current method to control T. infestans populations is the use of chemical insecticides but due to concerns over environmental impacts, insecticide resistance in native populations, and health concerns in humans, wild and domestic animals, viral vector controls are being investigated.
  Hesitations in early uses of Triatoma virus as a biological vector control agent were present because of its relation to other picornaviruses that are mammal pathogens. After the sequence of TrV was analyzed, however, it was concluded that it is different enough from picornavirus that it should belong to entirely new family of viruses that only infected insects, Dicistroviridae. The most notable genetic difference between the two categories of viruses is the presence of only one open reading frame in typical picornaviruses and two distinct open reading frames in viruses like triatoma virus. Triatoma virus has since been confirmed to be unable to replicate in many mammal species by experimental testing, specifically including humans, so it does not pose a risk to humans or wild or domesticated animals if used as a biological vector control agent.
  Triatoma virus infection leads to a 97.6% mortality rate in nymphs and inhibited molting in laboratory colonies. TrV causes delayed development and death in infected individuals. In a survey of wild populations of T. infestans in Argentina, the virus was only present in 10% of the population. Populations of T. infestans in the Dry Chaco ecoregion of Argentina have already been shown to be an effective, possible target for TrV vector control methods and other populations within Argentina have been identified as possible targets in theoretical models.
  After replication of TrV, T. infestans intestinal cells have shown to be more adherent to T. cruzi and are less likely to shed the pathogen for Chagas disease.
caption: Triatoma infestans, the vector of Trypanosoma cruzi which causes Chagas disease, is susceptible to Triatoma virus infection. Triatoma virus is a promising biological vector control agent for this species.[4]
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