Dynamics of Triatomine infestation in a Population of Houses

Trypanosoma cruzi, is the causal agent and parasite of Chagas, a neglected tropical disease transmitted mainly by blood-sucking triatomine insects in Latin America, the most prominent vector being Triatoma infestans. Currently there is no vaccine available for Chagas so disease control relies on control of the vector population. In this work we developed deterministic and stochastic mathematical models for the dynamics of bug infestation in a community of houses. First, we considered a spatially implicit Levins-type metapolulation model with only one type of house. Next, we studied the effect of differences in housing quality and structure in infestation dynamics and the effect of heterogeneity in the distribution of houses of different quality. Finally we developed more realistic spatially explicit metapopulation models. The models were used to assess the effect of different control strategies on house infestation.