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- Title
Chagas disease: assessing the existence of a threshold for bug infestation rate.
- Authors
Aiga, Hirotsugu; Sasagawa, Emi; Hashimoto, Ken; Nakamura, Jiro; Zúniga, Concepción; Chévez, José Eduardo Romero; Hernández, Hector Manuel Ramos; Nakagawa, Jun; Tabaru, Yuichiro
- Abstract
To examine the existence of a possible threshold for the domestic infestation rate of Triatoma dimidiata, below which transmission becomes unlikely, a census was conducted in 59 Chagas disease endemic communities of El Salvador and Honduras. Entomological and serological tests were conducted targeting 4,083 households and 6,324 children between 6 months and 15 years of age. The overall domestic infestation rate of Triatoma dimidiata and seroprevalence among children were 12.9% and 0.49%, respectively. Communities with a domestic infestation rate at 8% or less consistently showed a seroprevalence of 0%. In communities with a domestic infestation rate above 8%, there was a wide range in seroprevalence. A domestic infestation rate of 8% could serve as the possible threshold below which transmission would become unlikely. The implementation of an 8% threshold for determining needs for universal insecticide spraying would lead to a 21% reduction in spraying-related costs.
- Publication
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 2012, Vol 86, Issue 6, p972
- ISSN
1476-1645
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0652