Drivers of house invasion by sylvatic Chagas disease vectors in the Amazon-Cerrado transition: A multi-year, state-wide assessment of municipality-aggregated surveillance data.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Insecticide spraying efficiently controls house infestation by triatomine bugs, the vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi. The strategy, however, is ineffective against sylvatic triatomines, which can transmit Chagas disease by invading (without colonizing) man-made structures. Despite growing awareness of the relevance of these transmission dynamics, the drivers of house invasion by sylvatic triatomines remain poorly understood.

Methods/findings

About 12,000 sylvatic triatomines were caught during routine surveillance in houses of Tocantins state, Brazil, in 2005-2013. Using negative binomial regression, information-theoretic model evaluation/averaging, and external model validation, we investigated the effects of regional (Amazon/Cerrado), landscape (preservation/disturb

SUBMITTER: Brito RN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5689836 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature