Impregnated netting slows infestation by Triatoma infestans.
We used sentinel animal enclosures to measure the rate of infestation by the Chagas disease vector, Triatoma infestans, in an urban community of Arequipa, Peru, and to evaluate the effect of deltamethrin-impregnated netting on that rate. Impregnated netting decreased the rate of infestation of sentinel enclosures (rate ratio, 0.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.13-0.38; P < 0.001), controlling for the density of surrounding vector populations and the distance of these to the sentinel enclosures. Most migrant insects were early-stage nymphs, which are less likely to carry the parasitic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. Spread of the vector in the city therefore likely precedes spread of the parasite. Netting was particularly effective against adult insects and late-stage nymphs; taking into account population structure, netting decreased the reproductive value of migrant populations from 443.6 to 40.5. Impregnated netting can slow the spread of T. infestans and is a potentially valuable tool in the control of Chagas disease.
Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-2220, USA. levymz@yahoo.com
Michael Z
MZ
Levy
Victor R
VR
Quíspe-Machaca
Jose L
JL
Ylla-Velasquez
Lance A
LA
Waller
Jean M
JM
Richards
Bruno
B
Rath
Katty
K
Borrini-Mayori
Juan G Cornejo
JG
del Carpio
Eleazar
E
Cordova-Benzaquen
F Ellis
FE
McKenzie
Robert A
RA
Wirtz
James H
JH
Maguire
Robert H
RH
Gilman
Caryn
C
Bern
D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007300:Insect Control / Q000379:methods*; D007303:Insect Vectors; D007306:Insecticides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009570:Nitriles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D011156:Population Density; D011722:Pyrethrins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014224:Triatoma
D007306:Insecticides; D009570:Nitriles; D011722:Pyrethrins; C017180:decamethrin