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ARS Home » Plains Area » Kerrville, Texas » Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory » Livestock Arthropod Pest Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #389824
Research Project: Integrated Pest Management of Flies of Veterinary Importance

Location: Livestock Arthropod Pest Research Unit

Title: Review of American trypanosomiasis in southern Mexico highlights opportunity for surveillance research to advance control through the One Health approach

Author
item VELAZQUEZ RAMIREZ, DOIREYNER - University Of The Isthmus
item Perez De Leon, Adalberto - Beto
item OCHOA DIAZ LOPEZ, HECTOR - Colegio De La Frontera

Submitted to: FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/14/2022
Publication Date: 3/15/2022
Citation: Velazquez Ramirez, D.D., Perez De Leon, A.A., Ochoa Diaz Lopez, H. 2022. Review of American trypanosomiasis in southern Mexico highlights opportunity for surveillance research to advance control through the One Health approach. FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.838949.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.838949

Interpretive Summary: Kissing bugs are bloodsucking insects that fly. In addition to feeding on wildlife and humans, some species of kissing bugs take blood meals from livestock including cattle. Specific kissing bugs are vectors of the single-celled animal, or protozoan, scientifically named Trypanosoma cruzi, that in humans causes American trypanosomiasis (AT), also known as Chagas disease. Because its goals are to achieve optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment, the One Health initiative provides a holistic approach to address knowledge gaps in the epidemiology of AT in the Americas. This is the case in Mexico where AT transmission continues to burden public health in several parts of the country. Research to understand the epidemiology of AT in the Mexican southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca is described here. Emphasis is placed on investigations to understand the dynamics between kissing bug vectors and the hosts they bite in forested and rural environments. We hypothesize that the One Health research approach will advance surveillance and control efforts to prevent and disrupt T. cruzi transmission by kissing bug vectors. This will lessen the public health burden of AT in Mexico.

Technical Abstract: American trypanosomiasis, also known as Chagas disease, is a zoonosis of public health importance caused by the vector-borne protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. The epidemiology of American trypanosomiasis (AT) involves complex interactions between diverse triatomine bug and mammalian host species, including humans. Efforts to control AT are compromised by knowledge gaps on its epidemiology. Following recognition as a national public health problem in the middle of the last century, AT transmission continues to burden vulnerable sectors of the population in several parts of Mexico. Applying the One Health approach for collaborative and transdisciplinary efforts to achieve optimal health outcomes among people, animals, and their shared environment presents the opportunity to advance research efforts towards enhanced surveillance and control of AT. Research to understand the epidemiology of AT in the Mexican southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca is described here. The need to characterize dynamics of the sylvatic and peridomestic cycles between ecologically diverse transmission foci in the neotropics is highlighted. This information is discussed in the context of current knowledge for AT surveillance in the Americas. Because environmental and socioeconomic aspects influence its epidemiology, knowledge from One Health research can translate into effective interventions to prevent and disrupt T. cruzi transmission by triatomine bug vectors, and thus reduce the burden of AT on public health in Mexico.