This study aims to analyze the effect of domiciliary infestation by triatomine bugs on the degree to which inhabitants are aware of potential vector transmission of Chagas disease. Such recently constructed dwellings comprise housing groups classified as settlements and re-settlements, selected respectively in the municipalities of Euclides da Cunha Paulista and Paulicéia, São Paulo State, Brazil. Both municipalities are under the jurisdiction of the Presidente Prudente Health Administrative Region. Of the 319 residents, some 100 (76.0% of whom were re-settlement residents) knew about triatomine bugs. Housing units infested with triatomines were inhabited by 93 people. In 79.2% of the infested houses, 26.8% of the residents knew about Chagas disease and its vectors, but in 50.0% of the households, some people did not know what to do in case of triatomine infestation. Population samples from settlements and re-settlements, regardless of sex, age, and the State of origin, showed no difference in attitudes towards the prevention of Chagas disease or knowledge of the disease vector.
Chagas Disease; Triatoma; Communicable Disease Control; Rural Settlements
