Incidence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection among children following domestic reinfestation after insecticide spraying in rural northwestern argentina.

GURTLER RE; CECERE MC; LAURICELLA MA; PETERSEN RM; CHUIT R; SEGURA EL; COHEN J

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE

Año: 2005 p. 95 - 103

0002-9637

Abstract. Following increasing reinfestation with Triatoma infestans after insecticide spraying, the household incidenceof infection with Trypanosoma cruzi in children was positively related to the domestic abundance of infected T.infestans and the presence or proportion of infected dogs or cats in Amamá, a rural village in northwestern Argentina.Seven (12.1%) children seronegative for antibodies to T. cruzi at baseline, with no history of travel or blood transfusion,seroconverted after three years. Six incident cases lived in houses heavily infested with T. infestans, with high proportionsof bugs infected with T. cruzi and having fed on humans or dogs. The remaining incident case occurred under a very lightdomestic infestation detected only at the endpoint, and most bugs had fed on humans. Dogs had a 17 times greater forceof infection than children (4.3% per year). Sustained vector surveillance is crucially needed in high-risk areas for Chagasdisease such as the Gran Chaco.