Final Report Summary - ATU (American Trypanosomiasis Update)
The general objective of the ATU project was to provide a Specific Support Action (SSA) that contributed actively to the implementation of on-going and future activities within the work programme. It promoted collaboration in research in support of Chagas in support of Chagas disease control programmes in the three regional initiatives: Southern Cone, Andean Pact and Central America.
Multinational initiatives from the Southern Cone countries, Central-America, Andean pact countries and more recently México and the Amazon region currently represent an important contribution for eliminating transmission of Chagas disease. The level reached has been heterogeneous according to countries and areas within each country. The appraisal in the Southern Cone region contributed in the search for residual foci after the elimination of Triatoma infestans and increased the knowledge of other species involved in T. cruzi transmission. In the Central America / Mexico region, the appraisal evaluated the elimination of introduced and domestic vector Rhodnius prolixus and considered other vectors, including Triatoma dimidiata, Rhodnius pallescens and the T. phyllosoma- and T. protracta-species complex. In the Andean Countries, the analytical appraisal considered domestic and sylvatic populations of vector species, including R. prolixus and T. dimidiata in Colombia and Venezuela, or Rhodnius ecuadorienis and Panstrongylus species in Ecuador and Peru. In these field studies, samples were collected and the data compared with those obtained in studies before the control campaign. These limited entomological appraisals allowed a quality control of campaigns in the different regions. Objective entomological data are absolutely necessary.
Dissemination of information on the biology of principal and potential vectors and new tools for the control and surveillance were achieved by two workshops in the Andean and Central America / Mexico region and another in the Southern Cone region. Both workshops brought together groups of scientists from Europe and Latin America and experts of control programmes to exchange technologies and standardise criteria for control intervention monitoring and quality control. Professionals of the control programmes, health workers, members of the industry and scientists were invited to present the state of art. The workshops focused on control campaigns and supported the control programmes, provided the most actual data on the prevalence of Chagas disease in each Latin American country and presented data of experts on all aspects of the biology of the parasite T. cruzi and the vectors. The abstracts of the contributions were published and presented on the CDIA website.
Two hundred fifty copies of the abstracts of the workshop in Bogotá were distributed to all National Control Programmes, PAHO and at Universities involved in Chagas disease research in Latin America and Europe. The information about the SSA-project activities and of the abstracts of the workshop in Bogotá was included in the CDIA website.
Posters were printed containing the information about the CDIA-and SSA-project. These posters were distributed to all members of the committee to be presented at national and international meetings.
Multinational initiatives from the Southern Cone countries, Central-America, Andean pact countries and more recently México and the Amazon region currently represent an important contribution for eliminating transmission of Chagas disease. The level reached has been heterogeneous according to countries and areas within each country. The appraisal in the Southern Cone region contributed in the search for residual foci after the elimination of Triatoma infestans and increased the knowledge of other species involved in T. cruzi transmission. In the Central America / Mexico region, the appraisal evaluated the elimination of introduced and domestic vector Rhodnius prolixus and considered other vectors, including Triatoma dimidiata, Rhodnius pallescens and the T. phyllosoma- and T. protracta-species complex. In the Andean Countries, the analytical appraisal considered domestic and sylvatic populations of vector species, including R. prolixus and T. dimidiata in Colombia and Venezuela, or Rhodnius ecuadorienis and Panstrongylus species in Ecuador and Peru. In these field studies, samples were collected and the data compared with those obtained in studies before the control campaign. These limited entomological appraisals allowed a quality control of campaigns in the different regions. Objective entomological data are absolutely necessary.
Dissemination of information on the biology of principal and potential vectors and new tools for the control and surveillance were achieved by two workshops in the Andean and Central America / Mexico region and another in the Southern Cone region. Both workshops brought together groups of scientists from Europe and Latin America and experts of control programmes to exchange technologies and standardise criteria for control intervention monitoring and quality control. Professionals of the control programmes, health workers, members of the industry and scientists were invited to present the state of art. The workshops focused on control campaigns and supported the control programmes, provided the most actual data on the prevalence of Chagas disease in each Latin American country and presented data of experts on all aspects of the biology of the parasite T. cruzi and the vectors. The abstracts of the contributions were published and presented on the CDIA website.
Two hundred fifty copies of the abstracts of the workshop in Bogotá were distributed to all National Control Programmes, PAHO and at Universities involved in Chagas disease research in Latin America and Europe. The information about the SSA-project activities and of the abstracts of the workshop in Bogotá was included in the CDIA website.
Posters were printed containing the information about the CDIA-and SSA-project. These posters were distributed to all members of the committee to be presented at national and international meetings.