Infestation of rural houses by Triatoma infestans in the region of Los Llanos (La Rioja, Argentina)

PORCASI XIMENA; HRELLAC HUGO; CATALÁ SILVIA SUSANA; MORENO MARIANA LAURA; ABRAHAN LUCIANA BEATRIZ; HERNÁNDEZ MARÍA LAURA; GORLA DAVID ELADIO

MEMóRIAS DO INSTITUTO OSWALDO CRUZ.

FUNDACO OSWALDO CRUZ

Año: 2007 vol. 102 p. 63 - 68

0074-0276

Vectorial transmission of Chagas disease has been strongly reduced in most parts of the Southern Cone countries of South America, except in the Gran Chaco region of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. Given periodical interruptions of the vector control programmes in the endemic region of the Gran Chaco of Argentina, the vectorial transmission of the disease has been increasing during the last years. From the beginning of 2004, the provincial Ministry of Health of La Rioja (Argentina) started a vector control programme to cover the rural houses of the Los Llanos area in the southwestern area of the Gran Chaco region. This article reports the result of a standardized entomological survey and insecticide application against Chagas disease vectors in the intra and peridomestic structures of the rural houses of Los Llanos. A total of 4062 houses was inspected, of which 46.8% were found to be infested by T. infestans. Infestation by vector species other than T. infestans was less than 0.5% (T. eratyrusiformis and T. platensis). Intradomestic infestation was found in 27.2% whereas peridomestic infestation was found in 39.3% of the houses. The lowest figure of house infestation was recorded in the Department F Varela, where 20.6% of the houses had T. infestans in the intra and/or the peridomestic structures (6.6% exclusively in the intradomestic structures). The Department with highest infestation was Independencia, with 65.% of the houses infested (45.1% and 57.4% in the intra and peridomestic structures, respectively).