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Bolivia is one of the centers of diversity of native chilies (Capsicum spp.). The informal trade of Peruvian chilies has contributed to a low demand, and to a reduction in the cultivation (or in-situ conservation) of Bolivian chilies. This study analyzed the consumption of chilies by surveying 359 households. The results suggest that households are used to the taste of Peruvian chilies, and that one of the advantages of Bolivian chilies is their color. Standardized mixtures of chilies with the required flavor and color could be successfully introduced into the market and improve the sales of Bolivian chilies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, where economic expansion depends on extractive activities such as agriculture and mining, water quantity and quality considerations need to be examined in tandem with GDP growth and poverty reduction efforts. Poorest households in the Tupiza watershed in Bolivia are located in rural areas where water access for irrigation and safe drinking water is becoming increasingly scarce. Small-scale unregulated mining offers an alternative for revenue making in rural households, although wastewater from industry threatens water quality and new technologies to reduce water pollution are not implemented in this region yet. This study analyses water access and poverty linkages using the Multidimensional Poverty Analysis (MDPA) framework from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to guide a survey and to develop indicators using the Shapley-Owen decomposition method and multivariate regressions. A set of household-level policies were included to predict the influence of these policies on poverty reduction estimates. Results have shown that remote communities in rural areas have the lowest value of multidimensional poverty and for some of these communities mining activities represent an alternative that could be considered if their water access conditions worsen over time. While mining can bring better monetary benefits, it can cause the degradation of ecological flows from the produced wastewater. Under the current technologies and processes, it can pose negative impacts on water quality and threatens the public health of these communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trypanosoma cruzi has a high genetic and biological diversity and has been subdivided into seven genetic lineages, named TcI-TcVI and TcBat. DTUs TcI-TcII-TcV and TcVI are agents of ChD in different regions of Latin America. Due to population movements, the disease is an emergent global public health problem. Thus, the aim of this study was to quantify the parasitic load and identify the presence of T. cruzi DTUs in 101 Latin American immigrants with chronic ChD, residing in Barcelona, Spain. Methodology / Principal findings: 5ml of peripheral blood were collected in guanidine/EDTA from each patient for DNA extraction, quantification of the parasitic load and genotyping. A great variation of the parasitic load of the patients was verified: from 0.001 to 22.2 T. cruzi DNA (fg) / Blood DNA (ng). In patients from Bolivia the parasitic load was 3.76±4.43 T. cruzi DNA (fg) / Blood DNA (ng) (mean ± SD), in patients of other countries was 0.95±1.38 T. cruzi DNA (fg) / Blood DNA (ng). No statistically significant difference was observed in the parasitic load between patients with the indeterminate and cardiac forms of ChD (p = 0,57). Parasite genotyping was performed by multilocus conventional PCR. In patients from Bolivia there was a nearly equal prevalence of DTUs TcV (27/77), TcII/TcV/TcVI (26/77), and TcII/TcVI (22/77). TcVI was detected in only 2 samples (2/77). A higher prevalence of TcII/TcVI (19/24) was verified in patients of other countries, with low prevalence of TcII/TcV/TcVI (4/24) and TcV (1/24). Conclusions/Significance: In this study, low/medium parasitic load was found in all patients evaluated. Our data corroborate previous conclusions indicating that patients from the Bolivia, living in Spain, are predominantly infected by TcV, and TcVI DTUs. On the other hand, in Non-Bolivians patients TcII/TcVI predominated. Surprisingly, in our cohort of 101 patients no infection by TcI DTU was observed. Author summary: Trypanosoma cruzi is divided in seven distinct genetic groups (TcI-TcVI) and TcBat. They can be related to several biological parameters, the main being resistance to specific treatment. Due to the intense migration movements, ChD has become a serious public health problem in Europe. Thus, the work has the important function of identifying the genetic variability of T. cruzi circulating in the European continent, in addition to assessing the parasitic burden present in 101 chronic chagasic patients, residing in Barcelona, Spain. We show differences in the predominance between the infecting DTUs among Bolivian (TcV) and non-Bolivian patients (TcII/TcVI). This is the first study to describe the presence of TcVI genotype in Europe. Although the level of parasite burden is low/medium, it is higher in patients from Bolivia when compared with patients of other countries. The low parasitic burden is a limitation factor for studies aimed at evaluating by qPCR the effects of treating this disease with the drugs available to date, Benznidazole and Nifurtimox, and for clinical trials of new drugs. The information generated in this study should impact planning of more effective public health interventions to improve the health of chagasic patients, control vertical transmission and treatment of ChD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]