Ricardo Castillo-Neyra1, Lily Chou Chu2, Victor Quispe-Machaca2, Jenny Ancca-Juarez2, Fernando S Malaga Chavez3, Milagros Bastos Mazuelos2, Cesar Naquira2, Caryn Bern4, Robert H Gilman5, Michael Z Levy6. 1. Center for Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics - Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofia, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. Electronic address: rcastillo@jhu.edu. 2. Facultad de Ciencias y Filosofia, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. 3. Dirección Regional del Ministerio de Salud, Arequipa, Peru. 4. School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. 5. Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. 6. Center for Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics - Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address: mzlevy@mail.med.upenn.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Chagas disease, a vector-borne disease transmitted by triatomine bugs and caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects millions of people in the Americas. In Arequipa, Peru, indoor residual insecticide spraying campaigns are routinely conducted to eliminate Triatoma infestans, the only vector in this area. Following insecticide spraying, there is risk of vector return and reinitiation of parasite transmission. Dogs are important reservoirs of T. cruzi and may play a role in reinitiating transmission in previously sprayed areas. Dogs may also serve as indicators of reemerging transmission. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional serological screening to detect T. cruzi antibodies in dogs, in conjunction with an entomological vector collection survey at the household level, in a disease endemic area that had been treated with insecticide 13 years prior. Spatial clustering of infected animals and vectors was assessed using Ripley's K statistic, and the odds of being seropositive for dogs proximate to infected colonies was estimated with multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: There were 106 triatomine-infested houses (41.1%), and 45 houses infested with T. cruzi-infected triatomine insects (17.4%). Canine seroprevalence in the area was 12.3% (n=154); all seropositive dogs were 9 months old or older. We observed clustering of vectors carrying the parasite, but no clustering of seropositive dogs. The age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio between seropositivity to T. cruzi and proximity to an infected triatomine (≤50m) was 5.67 (95% CI: 1.12-28.74; p=0.036). CONCLUSIONS: Targeted control of reemerging transmission can be achieved by improved understanding of T. cruzi in canine populations. Our results suggest that dogs may be useful sentinels to detect re-initiation of transmission following insecticide treatment. Integration of canine T. cruzi blood sampling into existing interventions for zoonotic disease control (e.g., rabies vaccination programs) can be an effective method of increasing surveillance and improving understanding of disease distribution.
BACKGROUND: Chagas disease, a vector-borne disease transmitted by triatomine bugs and caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects millions of people in the Americas. In Arequipa, Peru, indoor residual insecticide spraying campaigns are routinely conducted to eliminate Triatoma infestans, the only vector in this area. Following insecticide spraying, there is risk of vector return and reinitiation of parasite transmission. Dogs are important reservoirs of T. cruzi and may play a role in reinitiating transmission in previously sprayed areas. Dogs may also serve as indicators of reemerging transmission. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional serological screening to detect T. cruzi antibodies in dogs, in conjunction with an entomological vector collection survey at the household level, in a disease endemic area that had been treated with insecticide 13 years prior. Spatial clustering of infected animals and vectors was assessed using Ripley's K statistic, and the odds of being seropositive for dogs proximate to infected colonies was estimated with multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: There were 106 triatomine-infested houses (41.1%), and 45 houses infested with T. cruzi-infected triatomine insects (17.4%). Canine seroprevalence in the area was 12.3% (n=154); all seropositive dogs were 9 months old or older. We observed clustering of vectors carrying the parasite, but no clustering of seropositive dogs. The age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio between seropositivity to T. cruzi and proximity to an infected triatomine (≤50m) was 5.67 (95% CI: 1.12-28.74; p=0.036). CONCLUSIONS: Targeted control of reemerging transmission can be achieved by improved understanding of T. cruzi in canine populations. Our results suggest that dogs may be useful sentinels to detect re-initiation of transmission following insecticide treatment. Integration of canine T. cruzi blood sampling into existing interventions for zoonotic disease control (e.g., rabies vaccination programs) can be an effective method of increasing surveillance and improving understanding of disease distribution.
Authors: Ricardo E Gürtler; María C Cecere; Marta A Lauricella; Rosario M Petersen; Roberto Chuit; Elsa L Segura; Joel E Cohen Journal: Am J Trop Med Hyg Date: 2005-07 Impact factor: 2.345
Authors: Marta V Cardinal; Marta A Lauricella; Leonardo A Ceballos; Leonardo Lanati; Paula L Marcet; Mariano J Levin; Uriel Kitron; Ricardo E Gürtler; Alejandro G Schijman Journal: Int J Parasitol Date: 2008-05-24 Impact factor: 3.981
Authors: Michael Z Levy; Dylan S Small; Daril A Vilhena; Natalie M Bowman; Vivian Kawai; Juan G Cornejo del Carpio; Eleazar Cordova-Benzaquen; Robert H Gilman; Caryn Bern; Joshua B Plotkin Journal: PLoS Comput Biol Date: 2011-09-15 Impact factor: 4.475
Authors: Michael Zachary Levy; Natalie M Bowman; Vivian Kawai; Lance A Waller; Juan Geny Cornejo del Carpio; Eleazar Cordova Benzaquen; Robert H Gilman; Caryn Bern Journal: Emerg Infect Dis Date: 2006-09 Impact factor: 6.883
Authors: Marta Victoria Cardinal; Gustavo Fabián Enriquez; Natalia Paula Macchiaverna; Hernán Darío Argibay; María Del Pilar Fernández; Alejandra Alvedro; María Sol Gaspe; Ricardo Esteban Gürtler Journal: PLoS Negl Trop Dis Date: 2021-05-12
Authors: Melissa N Garcia; Sarah O'Day; Susan Fisher-Hoch; Rodion Gorchakov; Ramiro Patino; Teresa P Feria Arroyo; Susan T Laing; Job E Lopez; Alexandra Ingber; Kathryn M Jones; Kristy O Murray Journal: PLoS Negl Trop Dis Date: 2016-11-10
Authors: Rachel Curtis-Robles; Italo B Zecca; Valery Roman-Cruz; Ester S Carbajal; Lisa D Auckland; Isidore Flores; Ann V Millard; Sarah A Hamer Journal: Am J Trop Med Hyg Date: 2017-02-06 Impact factor: 2.345
Authors: Azael Saldaña; José E Calzada; Vanessa Pineda; Milixa Perea; Chystrie Rigg; Kadir González; Ana Maria Santamaria; Nicole L Gottdenker; Luis F Chaves Journal: Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz Date: 2015-11 Impact factor: 2.743
Authors: Alyssa C Meyers; Julia C Purnell; Megan M Ellis; Lisa D Auckland; Marvin Meinders; Sarah A Hamer Journal: Am J Trop Med Hyg Date: 2020-05 Impact factor: 2.345
Authors: Marta Victoria Cardinal; Paula Andrea Sartor; María Sol Gaspe; Gustavo Fabián Enriquez; Ivana Colaianni; Ricardo Esteban Gürtler Journal: Parasit Vectors Date: 2018-08-30 Impact factor: 3.876