RESEARCH ARTICLE Prevalence and Transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in People of Rural Communities of the High Jungle of Northern

Background Vector-borne transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi is seen exclusively in the Americas where an estimated 8 million people are infected with the parasite. Significant research in southern Peru has been conducted to understand T. cruzi infection and vector control, however, much less is known about the burden of infection and epidemiology in northern Peru. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of T. cruzi infection in humans (n=611) and domestic animals [dogs (n=106) and guinea pigs (n=206)] in com-munities of Cutervo Province, Peru. Sampling and diagnostic strategies differed according to species. An entomological household study (n=208) was conducted to identify the triato-mine burden and species composition, as well as the prevalence of T. cruzi in vectors. Elec-trocardiograms (EKG) were performed on a subset of participants (n=90 T. cruzi infecte