Risk factors for Trypanosoma cruzi human infection in Barinas State, Venezuela.

This study attempted to quantify the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in children less than 15 years of age in Barinas State, Venezuela and investigate risk factors for infection. Among 3,296 children, 4 (0.12%) were seropositive.

Leishmania and sand flies: proximity to woodland as a risk factor for infection in a rural focus of visceral leishmaniasis in west central Venezuela.

Objective: To relate entomological, epidemiological and geographical data to understand the transmission dynamics of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in a closed focus in western Venezuela.

Methods: Spatial and temporal patterns of Lutzomyia pseudolongipalpis, the most prevalent phlebotomine sand fly species (99.7%), were studied in El Brasilar, Curarigua, Lara State, Venezuela, a small rural community of 20 dwellings and 118 inhabitants.