Impact Involving the Community in Entomological Surveillance of the Triatoma Infestans Vectorial Control

ABRAHAN LUCIANA; CAVALLO MARÍA JOSE; AMELOTTI IVANA

PARASITES AND VECTORS

BIOMED CENTRAL LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2021

1756-3305

Background: Vectorial transmission is the principal path of infection by Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causesChagas disease. In Argentina, Triatoma infestans is the principal vector; therefore, vector control is the main strategyfor the prevention of this illness. The Provincial Program of Chagas La Rioja (PPCHLR) carries out entomological evaluationof domiciliary units (DUs) and spraying of those where T. infestans is found. The lack of government funds hasled to low visitation frequency by the PPCHLR, especially in areas with a low infestation rate, which are not prioritized.Therefore, seeking possible alternatives to complement control activities is necessary. Involving householders in entomologicalevaluation could be a control alternative. The major objective was to determine the cost of entomologicalevaluation with and without community participation.Methods: For entomological evaluation without community participation, PPCHLR data collected in February 2017over 359 DUs of the Castro Barros Department (CBD) were used. For entomological evaluation with communityparticipation, 434 DUs of the same department were selected in November 2017. Each householder was trained incollecting insects, which were kept in labeled plastic bags, recovered after 2 weeks, and analyzed in the laboratoryfor the presence of T. cruzi. Using householders? collection data, a spatial scan statistic was used to detect clusters ofdifferent T. infestans infestations. Entomological evaluation costs with and without community participation relatedto the numbers of DUs visited, DUs evaluated, and DUs sprayed were calculated and compared between methodologies.In addition, the number of DUs evaluated of the DUs visited was compared.Results: According to the results, the triatomines did not show evidence of T. cruzi infection. Spatial analysis detectedheterogeneity of T. infestans infestation in the area. Costs related to the DUs visited, evaluated, and sprayed werelower with community participation (p < 0.05). In addition, more DUs were evaluated in relation to those visited and agreater surface area was covered with community participation.