Community Participation in Chagas Disease Vector Surveillance: Systematic Review

Abstract

BackgroundVector control has substantially reduced Chagas disease (ChD) incidence. However, transmission by household-reinfesting triatomines persists, suggesting that entomological surveillance should play a crucial role in the long-term interruption of transmission. Yet, infestation foci become smaller and harder to detect as vector control proceeds, and highly sensitive surveillance methods are needed. Community participation (CP) and vector-detection devices (VDDs) are both thought to enhance surveillance, but this remains to be thoroughly assessed.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe searched Medline, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, LILACS, SciELO, the bibliographies of retrieved studies, and our own records. Data from studies describing vector control and/or surveillance interventions were extracted by two reviewers. Outcomes of primary interest included changes in infestation rates and the detection of infestation/reinfestation foci. Most results likely depended on study- and site-specific conditions, precluding meta-analysis, but we re-analysed data from studies comparing vector control and detection methods whenever possible. Results confirm that professional, insecticide-based vector control is highly effective, but also show that reinfestation by native triatomines is common and widespread across Latin America. Bug notification by householders (the simplest CP-based strategy) significantly boosts vector detection probabilities; in comparison, both active searches and VDDs perform poorly, although they might in some cases complement each other.Conclusions/SignificanceCP should become a strategic component of ChD surveillance, but only professional insecticide spraying seems consistently effective at eliminating infestation foci. Involvement of stakeholders at all process stages, from planning to evaluation, would probably enhance such CP-based strategies.

Scientific authorships and collaboration network analysis on Chagas disease: papers indexed in PubMed (1940-2009)

“…This fact can be explained by the interest taken by individual researchers in Chagas disease and Trypanosomiasis in different countries (due in large part to the broad geographical dissemination of the disease, which has spilled over from Latin America into the United States, Canada and Europe), resulting in a myriad of papers (ABAD FRANCH et al 2011;RAMOS et al 2011). The higher number of Brazilian researchers can be attributed to the greater size and development of this country's scientific system, which has become the principal scientific reference in South America.…”

“…Early diagnosis of the disease is difficult due to its clinical characteristics, and treatment for chronic strains is not always effective (DE ANDRADE et al 1996;SOSA et al 1998). The parasite was first identified by the Brazilian infectologist Carlos Chagas in 1909, but it was not until the 1960s that disease control programs were first established (ABAD FRANCH et al 2011;DIAS 2009;SILVEIRA 2002). Rural migration to urban areas in the 1960s and the 1970s increased the risk of contracting the disease, while recent large-scale migration has led to the further spread of the disease to a number of other countries worldwide (GASCON et al 2010;MUÑOZ et al 2009;JACKSON et al 2010).…”

Chagas Disease: Assessing the Existence of a Threshold for Bug Infestation Rate

“…Second, a simplified bug detection method and its reporting system encourage communities to participate in bug detection activities and thereby help sustain a routine surveillance system. 23 The relationship between infestation of the species other than T. dimidiata and seropositivity among inhabitants has been sufficiently analyzed. These studies reported the significant association between types of materials of walls, infestation density, and seropositivity [24][25][26] ; they serve as useful evidence for determining insecticide spraying and house improvement as the necessary interventions at households infested with those other species.…”

Quality of Plague Surveillance System in Pasuruan Regency Year 2014 Based on Surveillance Attributes

“…Surveilans aktif akan berjalan lebih baik jika masyarakat ikut melaporkan adanya gejala sakit pes ataupun ratfall daripada menunggu petugas untuk melakukan surveilans aktif yang tidak dilaksanakan setiap hari. Adanya partisipasi masyarakat lokal dalam sistem surveilans terbukti dapat membuat sistem surveilans dapat berjalan lebih efektif terutama untuk mendukung keberlanjutan surveilans dalam jangka panjang (Abad-Franch, et al,2011).…”