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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1977

Hepatitis-B virus in bedbugs (Cimex hemipterus) from Senegal.

Bedbugs of the species Cimex hemipterus (F) were collected on four separate occasions from the bedding in the huts of village dwellers in Senegal, West Africa. Hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBSAg) was detected in unengorged nymph and adult bedbugs in each of the first three collections. 3 of 28 such specimens were HBSAg(+) in the first collection and 3 of 17 specimens were positive in the second collection. In the third, 6 of 9 were HBSAg(+) when the bed occupant was known to be HBSAg(+). 2 of these 6 positive insects did not contain human serum proteins. Bedbugs in the fourth collection were captured and kept alive without a blood meal for 30 days. 3 of 89 of these samples were HBSAg(+). These are the highest field infection-rates of hepatitis-B virus reported in any insect species. The bedbug must be considered a potential vector of hepatitis-B virus.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Persistence of hepatitis B surface antigen in the bedbug Cimex hemipterus (Fabr.).

The fate of hepatitis B virus in the bedbug was investigated to assess this insect's potential as a vector. Colony-reared Cimex hemipterus (Fabr.) were fed once on blood positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The insects were sampled at intervals thereafter and tested for HBsAg by radioimmunoassay. HBsAg persisted for up to six weeks in the bedbug's body after a single HBsAg-positive meal, during which time several further HBsAg-negative blood meals were taken. This result explains the high rates of field infection in bedbugs and further supports the hypothesis that bedbugs may play a role in transmission of hepatitis B virus.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Experimental assessment of bedbugs (Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus) and mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti formosus) as vectors of human immunodeficiency virus.

In vitro experiments were conducted to assess whether bedbugs (Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus) and mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti formosus) could act as vectors of HIV. These insects engorged through a membrane on a blood-virus mixture. Female bedbugs were larger than males and took larger blood-meals when fed to repletion. It was determined that the full blood-meal of a female bedbug contained 0.09 x 10(5) tissue culture infectious doses (TCID) of virus and a male 0.07 x 10(5) TCID, while partial meals taken when feeding was interrupted contained 0.013 x 10(5) TCID and 0.015 x 10(5) TCID for female and male bugs, respectively. Reverse transcriptase activity was assayed after culture of insect extracts in H9 cells: this showed survival of virus in C. lectularius for up to 4 h, in C. hemipterus for up to 1, possibly 2 h, but no survival in Ae. aegypti formosus. Four attempts to transmit the virus by interrupted feeding by C. lectularius from a blood-virus mixture to uninfected blood failed. It is concluded that Ae. aegypti formosus and probably other mosquitoes are not mechanical vectors of HIV and that such transmission is also unlikely to occur in bedbugs under natural conditions.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

The effects on domestic infestations of Cimex lectularius bedbugs of interspecific mating with C. hemipterus.

Interspecific mating between male Cimex hemipterus and female C. lectularius bedbugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) occurs freely in the laboratory, even when many female C. hemipterus are available. Longevity and fertile egg production of female C. lectularius are reduced by mating with male C. hemipterus. In KwaZulu, South Africa, a correlation exists between the percentage of C. lectularius females which are interspecifically mated and the predominance of C. hemipterus in mixed domestic infestations of these bedbugs. When C. hemipterus constitutes over 75% of the infestation, the majority of C. lectularius females lay only sterile eggs.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

The common bedbug Cimex lectularius in African huts.

The size and life-stage structure of heavy infestations of C. lectularius in Zulu huts were determined. The presence of more than one person in a hut at night, and control measures attempted by hut owners were found not to influence bedbug numbers significantly.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

The occurrence of the bedbugs Cimex hemipterus and Cimex lectularius in northern Natal and KwaZulu, South Africa.

Two species of anthropophilic bedbugs, Cimex lectularius and C. hemipterus, infest dwellings in KwaZulu, the known range of the latter extending to 28 degrees 15'S. C. hemipterus is the more common species in KwaZulu north of 27 degrees 15'. The pattern of distribution of C. hemipterus in South Africa is consistent with the species requiring a tropical climate, being a more recent invader than C. lectularius, and being able to thrive sympatrically with the latter species.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Changes in the relative frequency of occurrence of infestations of two sympatric species of bedbug in northern Natal and KwaZulu, South Africa.

Between 1983 and 1988 the frequency of Cimex hemipterus infestations relative to C. lectularius increased near the Mozambique border and around main roads in the Nkundusi-Mfekayi area of South Africa (28 degrees 15'S; 30 degrees 23' E). In areas where both species were common, the observed number of doubly-infested huts equalled the expected. A hut infested by both bedbug species showed a significant change to a higher proportion of C. hemipterus in the adult population over 2 months. The general increase in C. hemipterus is thought to be due to the large influx of migrants into South Africa in recent years.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

A reovirus from the bedbug, Cimex lectularius.

Large numbers of virus particles were identified by electron microscopy in the epithelial cells of the ventriculus of the bedbug, Cimex lectularius. The morphology of the virus particles and the presence of a segmented double-stranded RNA genome imply that this isolate should be included in the Reoviridae.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Transmission experiments with hepatitis B surface antigen and the common bedbug (Cimex lectularius L).

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive blood meals were fed to a colony of the common bedbug (Cimex lectularius L) in a series of 5 experiments. Antigen persisted in the bugs for at least 7 1/2 weeks, but was undetectable after 18 weeks. Trans-stadial transmission was demonstrated through one moult only, and transovarial transmission did not occur. Antigen was successfully transmitted by adult bugs into 3 out of 35 canisters of HBsAg-negative blood. Antibody of HBsAg was detected in the serum from a rabbit on which HBsAg-positive adult bugs had fed as well as in the serum of 2 out of 10 guinea-pigs on which HBsAg-positive 4th and 5th nymphal instars had fed. The results as a whole indicate that biological multiplication and biological transmission do not occur in C. lectularius, but mechanical transmission has been demonstrated. This is probably an important means of hepatitis B virus transmission among humans in South Africa.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Infection of the common bedbug (Cimex lectularius L) with hepatitis B virus in South Africa.

A total of 1 368 bedbugs of the species Cimex lectularius L were collected mainly from huts in villages or on farms at 6 localities in the northern Transvaal. They were tested in pools of 10 for the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). None of 20 pools from Pietersburg was HBsAg-positive, but 32 out of 120 pools from the 5 other localities were HBsAg-positive. Estimated infection rates per 1 000 bugs were 17,1 (Messina), 24,9 (Waterpoort), 28,4 (Letaba), 54,5 (Potgietersrus) and 67,0 (Louis Trichardt), with an overall rate of 30,6. Seventeen out of 57 pools of the engorged bugs (infection rate 34,8) and 14 out of 62 pools of the unengorged bugs (infection rate 25,3) were HBsAg-positive. These very high infection rates, even in unengorged bugs, suggest that C. lectularius could be a vector of hepatitis B virus in the Transvaal, and that the varying degrees of infestation could explain the markedly different HBsAg-positive frequencies previously shown in sera collected from different population groups in that province.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

A field study of mating between two species of bedbug in northern KwaZulu, South Africa.

The interspecific cross-mating of female Cimex lectularius Linnaeus with male Cimex hemipterus (Fabricius) results in a visible mark developing in the female ectospermalege. This mark has been used to record the frequency of mating between female C.lectularius and male C.hemipterus in sympatric wild populations in a DDT-sprayed area of northern KwaZulu, South Africa. A high percentage (11/16 = 69%) of C.lectularius females were marked, showing that these two species mate in nature.

Animals↗