Control Strategies Against Triatominae

GORLA DE; PONCE C; DUJARDIN JP; SCHOFIELD CJ

J Wiley & Sons

Año: 2010 p. 12

978-0-12-384876-5

Control of Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) is a primary component of strategies to halt the transmission of Chagas disease, along with serological screening of blood donors to reduce the likelihood of transmission through infected blood transfusions. In the early 1990s, an estimated 80% of Chagas disease cases were attributed to transmission from triatomine vectors (Schofield, 1994). Since 1991, a series of multinational initiatives have focused on elimination of the domestic vector populations throughout the endemic areas of Latin America. Largely as a result of these initiatives, transmission rates have been steadily reduced, with corresponding reductions in infection prevalence. Current estimates suggest that around 7 million people are infected, down from the 1984 estimate of 24 million (Walsh, 1984); annual transmission rates are probably fewer than 50,000 new cases per year (OPS, 2006; Schofield and Kabayo, 2008). The geographical distribution of domestic vector populations has been drastically reduced, especially Triatoma infestans in Southern Cone countries and Rhodnius prolixus in Central America. Uruguay, Chile, and Brazil, together with several provinces and departments of Argentina and Paraguay, have been formally declared free of transmission due to T. infestans, and Guatemala has recently been declared free of transmission due to R. prolixus. In addition, there has been steady progress in blood donor screening, with coverage now approaching 100% in most of the endemic countries (Schmunis and Cruz, 2005).