Infestation dynamics of Triatoma dimidiata in highly deforested tropical dry forest regions of Guatemala

BACKGROUND: Deforestation, driven by anthropogenic change in land use, influences the behaviour and abundance of vector-borne diseases. For various species of Chagas disease vectors, there is evidence that change in land use affects population density and abundance. Triatoma dimidiata is the most important Chagas vector in Guatemala, and at least one million people live in T. dimidiata endemic areas; however, infestation dynamics vary among regions, from high infestation with all life stages to low seasonal infestation by sylvatic adults. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate how land-use, combined with domiciliary risk factors, influences the infestation dynamics of T. dimidiata for four villages in a dry forest region with a strong deforestation history. METHODS: Land use, measured with drone and satellite images, was classified into four categories (houses, monocultures and pastures, woodland and shrubland, and bare soil). Domiciliary risk factors and infestation were assessed through entomological surveys. Statistical analyses compared infestation indices and the ability of land use and domiciliary risk factors to explain infestation. FINDINGS: Two villages had significantly higher infestation (26 and 30% vs. 5 and 6%), yet all villages had high colonisation (71-100% of infested houses had immature insects), with no significant difference among them. Because of the high level of deforestation across the study area, land use was not related to infestation; however, domiciliary risk factors were. A model based on four weighted domiciliary risk factors (adobe or bajareque walls, intradomicile animals, intradomicile clutter, and dirt floors) explains the infestation risk. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: Because almost all infested houses have reproducing populations in this deforested dry forest region and statistical analysis identified the domiciliary risk factors for infestation, intermediate and long-term control of Chagas disease vectors in this region requires management of these risk factors.