The risk of oral transmission in an area of a Chagas disease outbreak in the Brazilian northeast evaluated through entomological, socioeconomic and schooling indicators

•Eighteen cases of Chagas disease were confirmed serologically in the semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil, with two deaths reported.•Only 7.5% of residents in the outbreak area admitted knowledge that Chagas disease can also be acquired orally;.•Twelve percent of dwellings were found to be suitable for triatomine colonization;.•Thirteen percent of people reported they may have been bitten by triatomines in the last three years;.•The physical proximity between humans and triatomine populations with high trypanosoma cruzi prevalence represents a risk factor to further oral/vector contaminations.