CHICKEN COOPS, Triatoma dimidiata INFESTATION AND ITS INFECTION WITH Trypanosoma cruzi IN A RURAL VILLAGE OF YUCATAN, MEXICO

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo Vol. 57; no. 3; pp. 269 - 272
• Main Authors: Koyoc-Cardeña, Edgar, Medina-Barreiro, Anuar, Escobedo-Ortegón, Francisco Javier, Rodríguez-Buenfil, Jorge Carlos, Barrera-Pérez, Mario, Reyes-Novelo, Enrique, Chablé-Santos, Juan, Selem-Salas, Celia, Vazquez-Prokopec, Gonzalo, Manrique-Saide, Pablo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Brazil Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo 01.05.2015; Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo; Instituto de Medicina Tropical; Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
• Subjects: Animals; Brief Communication; Chagas disease; Chagas Disease - transmission; Chickens; Housing - statistics & numerical data; Insect Vectors - classification; Insect Vectors - parasitology; Longitudinal Studies; Mexico; Peridomicile; Risk Factors; Rural Population; Seasons; Triatoma - classification; Triatoma - parasitology; Triatoma dimidiata; TROPICAL MEDICINE; Trypanosoma cruzi; Trypanosoma cruzi - isolation & purification; Mexico; Chagas disease; Peridomicile; Triatoma dimidiata; Trypanosoma cruzi
• ISSN: 0036-4665; 1678-9946; 1678-9946; 0036-4665
• DOI: 10.1590/S0036-46652015000300015

This study longitudinally investigated the association between Triatoma dimidiata infestation, triatomine infection with Trypanosoma cruzi and household/backyard environmental characteristics in 101 homesteads in Molas and Yucatan, Mexico, between November 2009 (rainy season) and May 2010 (dry season). Logistic regression models tested the associations between insect infestation/infection and potential household-level risk factors. A total of 200 T. dimidiata were collected from 35.6% of the homesteads, mostly (73%) from the peridomicile. Of all the insects collected, 48% were infected with T. cruzi. Infected insects were collected in 31.6% of the homesteads (54.1% and 45.9% intra- and peridomiciliary, respectively). Approximately 30% of all triatomines collected were found in chicken coops. The presence of a chicken coop in the backyard of a homestead was significantly associated with both the odds of finding T. dimidiata (OR = 4.10, CI 95% = 1.61-10.43, p = 0.003) and the presence of triatomines infected with T. cruzi (OR = 3.37, CI 95% = 1.36-8.33, p = 0.006). The results of this study emphasize the relevance of chicken coops as a putative source of T. dimidiata populations and a potential risk for T. cruzi transmission.