title: A simple, biologically sound, and potentially useful working classification of Chagas disease vectors.
abstract: Current working classifications of Chagas disease vectors rely on a loose mix-up of biological and operational matters. They are therefore confusing and ineffective. I propose a very simple classification that makes biological sense and can be operationally useful. It considers a four-level hierarchy of species (which can be native or non-native); populations (either wild or non-wild); infestation foci (natural, domestic or peridomestic); and individual bugs (which can be solitary house-invaders or part of a hidden infestation focus). This classification translates into a clear, algorithmic scheme for triatomine control-surveillance that may be useful at every operationally relevant scale, from multi-country initiatives to on-site control-surveillance action.
authors.affiliation: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abad-Franch
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000635:transmission; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000145:classification*; D014225:Triatominae / Q000145:classification*