Attitudes and Practices from People of a Mayan Community of Mexico, Related to Tick-Borne Diseases: Implications for the Design of Prevention Programs.

Background: Tick-borne diseases are caused by several pathogens whose transmission could be associated to the life conditions of communities settled in endemic areas. We aimed to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to the exposition and prevention of tick-borne diseases among people living in a typical Mayan community of Yucatan, Mexico between Dec 2012 and May 2013.

Methods: A directed survey was applied to 212 (100%) householders (women and men) from Teabo, Yucatan, Mexico.

Seroprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi among mothers and children in rural Mayan communities and associated reproductive outcomes.

Our objective was to determine the seroprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection among mothers and children in two rural Mayan communities in Yucatan, Mexico and examine sociodemographic characteristics and adverse reproductive outcomes associated with maternal infection. We performed household surveys in the communities of Sudzal and Teya. Mothers were interviewed, and blood samples were obtained to perform rapid tests and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs).

Public street lights increase house infestation by the Chagas disease vector Triatoma dimidiata.

Triatoma dimidiata is one of the primary vectors of Chagas disease. We previously documented the spatio-temporal infestation of houses by this species in the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico, and found that non-domiciliated triatomines were specifically attracted to houses. However, the factors mediating this attraction remained unclear.