title: Intrusive versus domiciliated triatomines and the challenge of adapting vector control practices against Chagas disease.
abstract: Chagas disease prevention remains mostly based on triatomine vector control to reduce or eliminate house infestation with these bugs. The level of adaptation of triatomines to human housing is a key part of vector competence and needs to be precisely evaluated to allow for the design of effective vector control strategies. In this review, we examine how the domiciliation/intrusion level of different triatomine species/populations has been defined and measured and discuss how these concepts may be improved for a better understanding of their ecology and evolution, as well as for the design of more effective control strategies against a large variety of triatomine species. We suggest that a major limitation of current criteria for classifying triatomines into sylvatic, intrusive, domiciliary and domestic species is that these are essentially qualitative and do not rely on quantitative variables measuring population sustainability and fitness in their different habitats. However, such assessments may be derived from further analysis and modelling of field data. Such approaches can shed new light on the domiciliation process of triatomines and may represent a key tool for decision-making and the design of vector control interventions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Parasitología, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales Dr Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Waleckx
authors.affiliation: Institut de Modélisation et d'Analyses en Géo-Environnement et Santé, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia, Perpignan, France.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gourbière
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Parasitología, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales Dr Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dumonteil
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000635:transmission; D017753:Ecosystem; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007300:Insect Control / Q000379:methods*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology; D014225:Triatominae / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology