Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR), UNLAR, SEGEMAR, UNCa, CONICET, Entre Ríos y Mendoza s/n, Anillaco (5301), La Rioja, Provincia de La Rioja, Argentina.
Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencias de Catamarca (CITCA)-CONICET-UNCA, San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, Catamarca, Argentina.
Parasit Vectors. 2021 Feb 5;14(1):98. doi: 10.1186/s13071-021-04608-6.
Vectorial transmission is the principal path of infection by Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. In Argentina, Triatoma infestans is the principal vector; therefore, vector control is the main strategy for the prevention of this illness. The Provincial Program of Chagas La Rioja (PPCHLR) carries out entomological evaluation of domiciliary units (DUs) and spraying of those where T. infestans is found. The lack of government funds has led 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 entomological evaluation could be a control alternative. The major objective was to determine the cost of entomological evaluation with and without community participation.
For entomological evaluation without community participation, PPCHLR data collected in February 2017 over 359 DUs of the Castro Barros Department (CBD) were used. For entomological evaluation with community participation, 434 DUs of the same department were selected in November 2017. Each householder was trained in collecting insects, which were kept in labeled plastic bags, recovered after 2 weeks, and analyzed in the laboratory for the presence of T. cruzi. Using householders' collection data, a spatial scan statistic was used to detect clusters of different T. infestans infestations. Entomological evaluation costs with and without community participation related to 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.
According to the results, the triatomines did not show evidence of T. cruzi infection. Spatial analysis detected heterogeneity of T. infestans infestation in the area. Costs related to the DUs visited, evaluated, and sprayed were lower with community participation (p < 0.05). In addition, more DUs were evaluated in relation to those visited and a greater surface area was covered with community participation.
Participation of the community in the infestation survey is an efficient complement to vertical control, allowing the spraying to be focused on infested houses and thus reducing the PPCHLR's costs and intervention times.
虫媒传播是克氏锥虫（引起恰加斯病的寄生虫）感染的主要途径。在阿根廷，三带喙库蚊是主要媒介；因此，媒介控制是预防这种疾病的主要策略。拉里奥哈省恰加斯病防治计划（PPCHLR）对家庭住宅（DUs）进行媒介评估，并对发现三带喙库蚊的住宅进行喷洒。由于政府资金短缺，PPCHLR 的家访频率较低，特别是在感染率较低的地区，这些地区没有得到优先考虑。因此，需要寻找可能的替代方案来补充控制活动。让住户参与媒介评估可能是一种控制替代方案。主要目标是确定有和没有社区参与的媒介评估成本。
对于没有社区参与的媒介评估，使用 2017 年 2 月在卡斯特罗巴罗斯区（CBD）收集的 359 个 DUs 的 PPCHLR 数据。对于有社区参与的媒介评估，2017 年 11 月选择了同一部门的 434 个 DUs。每个住户都接受了收集昆虫的培训，这些昆虫被保存在标有标签的塑料袋中，两周后回收，并在实验室中分析是否存在克氏锥虫。使用住户收集的数据，使用空间扫描统计来检测不同三带喙库蚊感染的集群。计算并比较了有和没有社区参与的媒介评估成本与家访的 DUs 数量、评估的 DUs 数量和喷洒的 DUs 数量，并比较了家访的 DUs 评估数量。
根据结果，三带喙库蚊没有显示克氏锥虫感染的证据。空间分析检测到该地区三带喙库蚊感染的异质性。有社区参与的家访、评估和喷洒的成本较低（p<0.05）。此外，与家访的 DUs 相比，评估的 DUs 更多，并且社区参与的面积更大。
社区参与感染调查是垂直控制的有效补充，允许将喷洒集中在受感染的房屋上，从而降低 PPCHLR 的成本和干预时间。
