Reinfestation Sources for Chagas Disease Vector, Triatoma infestans, Argentina

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: María C. Cecere, Universidad de Buenos Aires; Gonzalo Vazquez Prokopec, Emory University; Ricardo E. Gürtler, Universidad de Buenos Aires; Uriel Kitron, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2006-07
• Publisher: National Center for Infectious Diseases
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2006 CDC
• Final Published Version (URL): http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/12/7/05-1445_article.htm
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• ISSN: 1080-6040
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 7
• Start Page: 1096
• End Page: 1102
• Grant/Funding Information: This project was supported by grant number R01 TW05836 to Uriel Kitron and Ricardo E. Gürtler, in part by grant number 1 C06 RR 16515 to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine both from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), by the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Técnica (Argentina), and the University of Buenos Aires.
• Keywords: Vector control; Chagas disease; Geographic Information Systems; Spatial clustering; Triatoma infestans

Abstract

Reinfestation by Triatoma infestans after insecticide spraying has caused elimination efforts in the dry Chaco region to fail repeatedly. The sources and spatial extent that need to be considered to understand the reinfestation pattern and to plan a comprehensive control program were studied in 2 adjacent rural communities in northwestern Argentina from 1993 to 1997. The effects of external, residual, and primary sources on the reinfestation pattern were evaluated by using geographic information systems, satellite imagery, spatial statistics, and 5-year retrospective data for 1,881 sites. The reinfestation process depended on primary internal sources and on surrounding infested communities. In the dry Chaco, successfully reducing the risk for reinfestation in a community depends on treating all communities and isolated sites within 1,500 m of the target community. In addition, during the surveillance phase, spraying all sites within 500 m of new foci will delay reinfestation.