Animal trypanosomiasis is a disease caused by parasites of the genus Trypanosome. This malady is widely distributed in many countries, located in tropical and subtropical areas of the world where blood-sucking flies are present. Water buffaloes are important domestic animals used for meat and milk production, and draught power. Buffalo herds are raised in areas where trypanosomiasis is endemic. In Venezuela, the buffalo industry is becoming a very important and common livestock. However, animals imported from non-endemic areas may suffer severe infections. The development of methods which ensure an efficient epidemiological surveillance against this disease is of great relevance. The immunological tests are of great importance for this purpose, because of the low sensitivity of the current parasitological methods, due to the low parasite burden that occur in subclinical and chronic infections caused by trypanosomes. To estimate the serological prevalence of trypanosome in water buffaloes, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used in buffalo samples of healthy animals from the municipalities of Rómulo Gallegos, Ricaurte and Girardot, in the State of Cojedes, Venezuela. Additionally, samples were also assessed with the indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and the microhematocrit test (MHCT). A total of 180 blood samples, none of which had an active parasitemia by TMC, were assessed. The prevalence determined by ELISA was 45.56%, which was significantly (P<0.05) higher than that obtained by IFAT (28.89%). The results of the experiments showed a moderate Kappa index of concordance of 0.45 (95% CI: 0.31-0.58); whereas the concordance value for both tests was 73.33%. Both the sensitivity and specificity of ELISA, compared to the IFAT, was 82.69% and 69.53%, respectively. The predictive positive and negative values were 52.44% and 90.82%, respectively. The findings suggest an endemic condition, with moderate infection values caused by Trypanosoma spp. in buffaloes from these regions of Venezuela and show, for the first time, the usefulness of ELISA for epidemiological studies of trypanosomiasis.

During the past decade countries in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region have lifted more than 50 million people out of poverty, yet half of the rural population in the region still lacks access to sanitation and approximately 20 percent to drinking water. In January 2012, policy makers, scholars, and practitioners from nine LAC countries came together in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to explore the opportunities and challenges of integrating in a more systematic and sustainable way the promotion of hygiene and sanitation behavioral change into water and sanitation investments. During the conference in Santo Domingo, it became evident that a common understanding is currently emerging from most countries in the sense that infrastructure by itself will not solve the global problems of inadequate access to improved sanitation and potable water, unless people adopt new behaviors. Therefore, there is a need to spread learning on best practices to implement cost effective water, sanitation and hygiene models, which bring about change at home and in the community at scale. This paper highlights key issues that arose in presentations and group discussions during the conference, which, can lead to substantial improvements in the provision of a multi-sector approach to hindering sustainable water and sanitation services for all.