In 1979, the first autochthonous case of Chagas disease in the Western Brazilian Amazon was reported and an entomological survey was carried out around it. Specimens of
Rhodnius pictipes
and Rhodnius robustus were collected in intradomicile and sylvatic ecotopes. Adult bugs were infected with trypanosomatids. Invasion of houses by triatomines was demonstrated and the presence of infected bugs inside dwellings was associated with the possibility of vector-borne Chagas disease. Continuous entomological surveillance employing additional taxonomic tools is needed in the Brazilian Amazon in order to better understand the dynamics of house invasion by sylvatic triatomines and the risk of
Trypanosoma cruzi
infection transmission.
