Implementation science : epidemiology and feeding profiles of the Chagas vector Triatoma Dimidiata prior to Ecohealth intervention for three locations in Central America

Abstract

Blood feeding insects from the subfamily Triatomine are involved in the transmission of Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, a neglected tropical disease endemic from southern Mexico through Central to northern South America. Chagas disease mostly affects rural areas and especially people living in houses made of lowcost, natural materials such as bajareque or adobe that have mud walls and a dirt floor. A multidisciplinary data-driven Ecohealth vector control program that includes house improvements (wall plastering and cement flooring), as well as insecticide spraying, was developed in Jutiapa department, Guatemala, and has been shown to decrease vectorhuman contact. Because Chagas vectors feed on a wide variety of vertebrates, knowing the local feeding profiles of the insect vectors before interventions can strengthen Ecohealth program development. To facilitate scaling up the Ecohealth program developed in Jutiapa to three new locations in three different countries, Texistepeque, El Salvador; San Marcos de la Sierra, Honduras and Olopa, Guatemala, and with distinct ecological scenarios, we assessed the entomological indices, feeding profiles and parasite infection of vectors collected in and around houses in the new locations prior to any interventions. Our results show all three metrics varied among locations. The results highlight the importance of domestic, synanthropic and sylvatic blood meal sources on the disease transmission cycle and the need to consider local conditions for vector control.