Abstract
To determine the prevalence of sensitization to Triatoma protracta in a well-defined human population, levels of specific IgE and IgG were measured by radioimmunoassay. The study was conducted within a community in a coastal chaparraloak woodland area that provided ideal habitat for Neotoma, the primary host of T. protracta. IgE antibody levels were compared with personal histories of hypersensitivity to T. protracta. The probability of the assay detecting a hypersensitive individual was 0.80; that of identifying a negative individual was 0.99. Given a positive test, the probability that the individual was indeed positive was 0.89; given a negative test, the probability that the individual was actually negative was 0.98. The prevalence of elevated levels of IgE antibodies to T. protracta, and hence potential for serious immediate-hypersensitivity reactions to T. protracta, was calculated to be 6.7% of the study population.
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