Objective: To analyse the ecological and social factors involved in infestation of houses by Triatoma dimidiata in a rural locality of Veracruz, Mexico, where active transmission of the parasite is occurring.
Methods: A survey was applied to the households of the locality to obtain sociodemographic data. In parallel, T. dimidiata insects were collected during one year through community participation. Using PCR, the insects were genotyped, their infection status was assessed, and parasite genotypes infecting the insects were identified. The vector's blood meal sources were identified using a polymerase-heteroduplex chain reaction assay.
Results: Seasonal variations in the patterns of infestation by T. dimidiata were observed. An overall infestation rate of 19.46%, a colonisation index of 9.09%, a dispersion rate of 22.15% and a synanthropy index of 80.6% were found. The collected insects were identified as ITS-2 group 2 insects, and a natural infection with T. cruzi of 54.35% was found. TcI and no-TcI genotypes of T. cruzi were found in infected insects. Factors such as rain (P = 0.0006) and temperature (P < 0.0001) were associated with infestation. Analysis of the blood meal sources indicated frequent feeding upon humans and mice. Furthermore, house materials and peridomiciles were found to play an important role in the dynamics of infestation.
Conclusions: The contribution of this study is important for understanding the epidemiology of Chagas disease in rural areas of the state of Veracruz and will help to the establishment of an entomological surveillance system and implementation of prevention and control measures in accordance with the reality of the area.
Keywords: T. dimidiata; ecology; environmental factors; infestation; risk factors.
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.