title: House construction, triatomine distribution, and household distribution of seroreactivity to Trypanosoma cruzi in a rural community in northeast Brazil.
abstract: Household distribution of seroreactivity to Trypanosoma cruzi in inhabitants was analyzed in relation to house construction and the distribution of Panstrongylus megistus, the principal domestic vector of Chagas' disease in a rural area in northeast Brazil. No children residing in mud-brick houses were seroreactive to T. cruzi. The highest rates of seroreactivity occurred in residents of unplastered mud-stick houses, and were twice as high as those found in persons living in mud-brick houses or plastered mud-stick houses. Two-thirds of seroreactive children in this area resided in unplastered mud-stick houses. Over 90% of the P. megistus infestations were found in mud-stick houses. Mud-brick houses had the lowest infestation rates of P. megistus and the lowest household rates of seroreactivity to T. cruzi.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D001938:Brazil; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D002648:Child; D004199:Disease Vectors; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D010203:Panstrongylus; D012424:Rural Population; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies