Towards a "Local Chagas network": presence of vinchucas in urban houses in San Juan and collaborative work between community, university, health and research teams

Abstract

Chagas disease is a parasitic disease that affects about 6 million people in the world. There are different routes of transmission and in the Americas, vector-borne transmission is the most frequent. In Argentina, the main vector of Trypanosoma cruzi (etiological agent) is the vinchuca or bedbug Triatoma infestans, which mainly inhabits rural dwellings. However, in recent years, the only records of vectorial Chagas disease in the country come from the urban area of San Juan. This problem represents a challenge for the local health system, partly due to the fact that all vector control strategies are currently based on and oriented to rural areas. Within the framework of a broad project with field presence since 2021, involving social, cultural and eco-epidemiological aspects of Chagas disease, this work aimed to identify the network of actors and institutions (formal and non-formal) that could form a "Local network of work on Chagas disease". Through numerous meetings, exchanges, trainings and activities of visibility, dissemination and research, it was possible to generate a link with different actors involved such as members of the community, university, health and research teams in order to make visible and raise awareness of the Chagas problem with the ultimate goal of establishing a fluid and continuous dialogue among the actors. It is hoped that this experience and others planned for the future can contribute to give continuity to the work carried out on Chagas disease from a multidimensional perspective, thus involving more sectors of society and achieving the consolidation and sustainability of a local network.