title: Urbanization, land tenure security and vector-borne Chagas disease.
abstract: Modern cities represent one of the fastest growing ecosystems on the planet. Urbanization occurs in stages; each stage characterized by a distinct habitat that may be more or less susceptible to the establishment of disease vector populations and the transmission of vector-borne pathogens. We performed longitudinal entomological and epidemiological surveys in households along a 1900 × 125 m transect of Arequipa, Peru, a major city of nearly one million inhabitants, in which the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, the aetiological agent of Chagas disease, by the insect vector Triatoma infestans, is an ongoing problem. The transect spans a cline of urban development from established communities to land invasions. We find that the vector is tracking the development of the city, and the parasite, in turn, is tracking the dispersal of the vector. New urbanizations are free of vector infestation for decades. T. cruzi transmission is very recent and concentrated in more established communities. The increase in land tenure security during the course of urbanization, if not accompanied by reasonable and enforceable zoning codes, initiates an influx of construction materials, people and animals that creates fertile conditions for epidemics of some vector-borne diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, The Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia/University of Pennsylvania Chagas Disease Field Laboratory, Arequipa, Peru mzlevy@mail.med.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Michael Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, The Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia/University of Pennsylvania Chagas Disease Field Laboratory, Arequipa, Peru.
authors.forename: Corentin M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Barbu
authors.affiliation: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia/University of Pennsylvania Chagas Disease Field Laboratory, Arequipa, Peru Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Castillo-Neyra
authors.affiliation: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia/University of Pennsylvania Chagas Disease Field Laboratory, Arequipa, Peru.
authors.forename: Victor R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Quispe-Machaca
authors.affiliation: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia/University of Pennsylvania Chagas Disease Field Laboratory, Arequipa, Peru.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ancca-Juarez
authors.affiliation: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia/University of Pennsylvania Chagas Disease Field Laboratory, Arequipa, Peru.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Escalante-Mejia
authors.affiliation: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia/University of Pennsylvania Chagas Disease Field Laboratory, Arequipa, Peru.
authors.forename: Katty
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Borrini-Mayori
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, The Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia/University of Pennsylvania Chagas Disease Field Laboratory, Arequipa, Peru.
authors.forename: Malwina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niemierko
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, The Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Tarub S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Mabud
authors.affiliation: Departments of Economics and Sociology and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Jere R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Behrman
authors.affiliation: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia/University of Pennsylvania Chagas Disease Field Laboratory, Arequipa, Peru.
authors.forename: Cesar
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Naquira-Velarde
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D057805:Pets; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014224:Triatoma / Q000469:parasitology; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi; D014507:Urbanization
keywords: Chagas disease; Triatoma infestans; Trypanosoma cruzi; land tenure security; urbanization