Cortez M. R. auteur aut IRD Monteiro F. A. auteur aut IRD Noireau François auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Triatoma infestans, now eliminated from most of South America by control campaigns, has been and still is the main Chagas disease vector due to its ability to colonize rural dwellings. The traditional hypothesis put forth to explain T. infestans adaptation to the synanthropic environment rests on the domestication of wild guinea pigs, one of its natural hosts, by Andean tribes about 5000 BC. Here we present two new hypotheses, based on organized human social activities. The first involves maize production, storage and distribution during the Inca period. Maize granaries could host wild rodent populations that would attract sylvatic T. infestans that were later dispersed during maize distribution. The second hypothesis is associated with the contemporary Urkupina Virgin festival, near Cochabamba, where thousands of pilgrims gather for rituals in an area that is part of a sylvatic T. infestans focus, thus favoring the contact with the insects and leading to their passive dispersal. specialized Chagas disease Triatoma infestans Sylvatic focus Dispersal Bolivia 052 10 2 350-353 2010 1567-1348 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010049417 10.1016/j.meegid.2009.12.006 1567-1348 [F B010049417] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010049417 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2010/04/010049417.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2010-05-03 2017-08-23 fdi:010049417 fre