An Image-Euclidean-Distance Classifier of Some Triatomine Vectors of Chagas Disease

Chagas disease (CD) disease is a life-threatening tropical parasitic disease caused by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi is typically transmitted to humans and other mammals by the bite of "kissing bugs" of the subfamily Triatominae (family Reduviidae), primarily by species belonging to the Triatoma, Rhodnius, and Panstrongylus genera. Rapidly identifying CD insect vectors in the field is crucial to effective control of the disease. Here I describe an image-Euclidean-distance classifier that suppors rapid identification of adults of nine CD vector species.