Resumen

OSCHEROV, Elena Beatriz; MILANO, Alicia María Francisca  y  ROQUE BAR, Aníbal. Perceptions and behaviour about the transmission of Tunga penetrans (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) in a population from an endemic area of Argentina. Bol Mal Salud Amb [online]. 2008, vol.48, n.1, pp.53-60. ISSN 1690-4648.

The aim of this work was to know the perceptions and behaviour of the inhabitants of Santa Ana de los Guácaras, Corrientes, Argentina with regard to Tunga penetrans. Forty-six homes were selected and studied. The information was obtained by means of structural surveys. Infestation was 68.1% over one hundred and eighty two people. The major frequency was in children and women. Feet and hands were the most frequent sites of infestation. Of the evaluated dogs (n= 63), 96.8% were infested. 34.1% of people recognized the “tunga” as a flea and none of them knew its life cycle or how it was transmitted. The citizens use a sharp element to extract the flea from the skin and 47.0% of them disinfect the wound afterward. The permanency of tungiasis in the area can be attributed to dissemination carried out by animals, to the lack of understanding and importance of the tungiasis as a health problem, the ignorance of methods to combat it and the lack of an adopted community plan of control measures.

Palabras clave : Tunga penetrans; transmission; perceptions; behaviour.