Dataset Information

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.

SUBMITTER: Levy MZ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4100517 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Urbanization, land tenure security and vector-borne Chagas disease.

Levy Michael Z MZ Barbu Corentin M CM Castillo-Neyra Ricardo R Quispe-Machaca Victor R VR Ancca-Juarez Jenny J Escalante-Mejia Patricia P Borrini-Mayori Katty K Niemierko Malwina M Mabud Tarub S TS Behrman Jere R JR Naquira-Velarde Cesar C

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20140801 1789

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 T ...[more]

PMID: 24990681

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Dataset Information

Urbanization, land tenure security and vector-borne Chagas disease.

Publications

Urbanization, land tenure security and vector-borne Chagas disease.

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