	The Pan American Health Organization Promoting Health in the Americas

Disease Prevention and Control / Communicable Diseases / Chagas Disease

Chagas Disease Control Project: 2003 Annual Report (JICA, Secretary of Health Honduras, PAHO/WHO)

Full-Text Report (in Spanish, 76 pp, with tables, figures, photos & maps; PDF, 8573 Kb) (TOC heading translated below for user orientation) Part 1: Documentation from Chagas/JICA Project 1. Introduction 2. Problem of Chagas Disease 3. Chagas Disease in Honduras 4. JICA Regional Chagas Project in Central America 5. Strategy of the Chagas Project Part 2^a: Project Activities & Achievements, 2003 6. National Chagas Program 7. Chagas Project, Secretary of Health & JICA (summary) 8. Department of Intibucá, Health District 2 9. Department of Copán, Health District 1 10. Copán, Health District 4 11. Department of Lempira, Health District 2 12. Project Planning, Department of Ocotepeque, Health District 3 Annex 1: Municipalities Studied Where Chagas Interventions Occurred, by Cooperation Project, 2003–2007 Annex 2: Percentage of Housing with Organic Roofing in Places Covered by JICA Honduras Project Other Subregional Initiatives - AMCHA (Amazon) - INCOSUR (Southern Cone) PAHO Chagas Page		- Initiative of Central American Countries to Interrupt Vectoral and Trasfusional Transmission of Chagas Disease (IPCA) - National Strategic Plan for Chagas Disease (PENCHAGA), Honduras Regional cooperation by the Japanese government in the area of Chagas disease control began in Guatemala in the year 2000 with an objective conceived on the basis of the PAHO/WHO resolution, "Interruption of Chagas Disease Transmission in Central America by 2010." On the basis of the success of the Guatemalan project, a decision was made to implement the *Secretary of Health Honduras and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Chagas Disease Control Project. Initially, the project covered 4 departments in the western part of the country (Copán, Lempira, Ocotepeque and Intibucá), starting in September 2003 with a duration of 4 years. The main expected result* of the project is to eliminate Rhodnius prolixus and control Triatoma dimidiata through the application of insecticide in dwellings. The project constitutes an indispensable part of the National Program for Chagas Disease Control of Honduras. For the government of Japan, the initiative to control Chagas disease is one of the six international commitments announced at the WSSD summit (World Summit on Sustainable Development) in Johannesburg, 26 August to 4 September 2002. In addition to the JICA project, the Japanese government supports improving housing in Chagas-endemic areas (Departments of Intibucá, Yoro and Francisco Morazán) through funding provided by the Japanese Embassy in Honduras (Lps. 20 million, or US$ 1.1 million). To achieve the aforementioned results, the National Program and the JICA Chagas Project, in collaboration with other institutions and partners, prepared a specific strategy with a series of activities. Since July 2003, a total of eight training sessions have been held for institutional personnel from the departments where activities are being carried out by the JICA project to prevent and control Chagas disease. It is noteworthy that the majority of the 354 people who were trained are field staff. Exploratory entomological data on children was obtained in four health districts, from a total of 645 schools attended by 26,572 pupils. Of these, 2,728—or 10%—reported having seen R. prolixus, the greatest percentages coinciding with the most Chagas-endemic areas in Intibucá y Copán. A total of 7,445 children, or 28%, were described as having seen T. dimidiata. From September 2003 to March 2004, in the departments of Intibucá and Copán, a total of 1,465 children were examined, out of which in 204 showed a serology positive for Chagas' disease, distributed thus: 125 from the municipality of Yamaranguila, 34 from the municipality of San Marcos de Sierra, and 45 from Copán Ruinas.