Tele-entomology and tele-parasitology: A citizen science-based approach for surveillance and control of Chagas disease in Venezuela.

Chagas Disease (CD), a chronic infection caused by the parasite, is a Neglected Tropical Disease endemic to Latin America. With a re-emergence in Venezuela during the past two decades, the spread of CD has proved susceptible to, and inhibitable by a digital, real-time surveillance system effectuated by Citizen Scientists in communities throughout the country. The #TraeTuChipo (#BringYourKissingBug) campaign implemented in January 2020, has served as such a strategy counting on community engagement to define the current ecological distribution of CD vectors despite the absence of a functional national surveillance program. This pilot campaign collected data through online surveys, social media platforms, and/or telephone text messages. A total of 79 triatomine bugs were reported from eighteen Venezuelan states; 67 bugs were identified as 1 as 1 as and 10 as We analyzed 8 triatomine feces samples spotted from 4 which were confirmed positive by qPCR for Further molecular characterization of discrete typing units (DTUs), revealed that all samples contained TcI, the most highly diverse and broadly distributed strain of . Moreover, analysis of the mitochondrial 12S gene revealed , and as the main triatomine feeding sources. This study highlights a novel Citizen Science approach which may help improve the surveillance systems for CD in endemic countries.