Infestación por vectores de la enfermedad de Chagas en cuatro zonas edémicas de la meseta central de Costa Rica / Infestation by Chagas disease vectors in 4 endemic zones of the central plateau of Costa Rica

ABSTRACT

An entomological search for vectors of Chagas` disease was performed in 157 houses located in 4 endemic regions of the Central Plateau of Costa Rica. Thirteen of the houses (8.3 percent) were positive for Triatoma dimidiata (Hemiptera Reduviidae) the only triatomine species found. The bugs were collected mainly in peridomestic piles of firewood (95.2 percent) and 8.1 percent of all the insects were infected by Trypanosoma cruzi. The low abundance of Chagas' disease vectors and the their low infestation rates could be attributed to the improvement of the living conditions in the four study zones. The data also suggests that the impact of T. cruzi infection in Costa Rican populations could be low and the prevalence of T. cruzi could be linked to zoonotic cycles