Developmental time and mortality of larvae of Triatoma infestans infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.

Triatoma infestans were infected with Trypanosoma cruzi (zymodeme 1) at the first feed after eclosion from the egg; interstadial development times and mortality rates were then recorded until the imaginal moult and compared with those of uninfected controls. No retardation of development occurred in infected bugs and their mean total mortality rate (9%) was only slightly higher than that (6%) of uninfected controls (due solely to 4 additional deaths). This is the first demonstration, under optimal and standardized rearing conditions, that infection of T. infestans with T. cruzi has little or no effect on development times or mortality rates.