Transmission of Trypanosma cruzi (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) occurs when feces/urine of infected triatomines come into contact with mucous membranes or damaged skin, and this occurs mainly when insects defecate while feeding on the host. Thus, the vector competence of the triatomines is associated with their feeding and excretion/defecation behavior. This work studied for the first time the effect of T. cruzi infection on feeding and excretion/defecation patterns of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). Uninfected and infected fifth-instar nymphs were fed ad libitum and their feeding behavior and defecations were registered during and after feeding. The feeding pattern did not show differences between the experimental groups. However, the infected nymphs began to defecate earlier, defecated in greater quantity and there was a greater proportion of defecating individuals compared to uninfected nymphs. These results show that T. cruzi affected the excretion/defecation pattern of T. infestans in a way that would increase the probability of contact between infective feces and the mammalian host.

中文翻译：

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感染克氏锥虫对致病锥虫摄食和排泄/排便方式的影响

传输克氏锥虫（Kinetoplastida：Trypanosomatidae）在受感染的triatomines的粪便/尿液与粘膜或受损皮肤接触时发生，这主要发生在昆虫以宿主为食时排便时。因此，triatomines 的载体能力与它们的进食和排泄/排便行为有关。这项工作首次研究了T. cruzi感染对喂养和排泄/排便模式的影响三叶虫（半翅目：Reduviidae）。喂养未感染和感染的五龄若虫随意并在喂食期间和喂食后记录他们的进食行为和排便情况。喂养方式在实验组之间没有显示出差异。然而，受感染的若虫开始排便较早，排便量更大，与未感染的若虫相比，排便的个体比例更大。这些结果表明T. cruzi影响排泄/排便方式T. infestans以某种方式增加感染性粪便与哺乳动物宿主之间接触的可能性。