Abstract
International migration has changed the epidemiologic patterns of Chagas disease. Recently, 2 cases of Chagas disease transmitted from Latin American women to their newborns were diagnosed in Geneva, Switzerland. A retrospective study to detect Chagas disease showed a prevalence of 9.7% among 72 Latin American women tested during pregnancy in Switzerland.
Highlights
Chagas disease, a zoonotic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is the most important endemic parasitic infection in Mexico and Central and South America because of the number of persons who become ill or die from this disease [1]
The mother had not been previously tested for T. cruzi but related that her father had died of Chagas disease–related heart complications
T. cruzi serologic testing by immunofluorescence was positive for the mother, and blood microscopic examination and PCR were positive for the newborn, confirming vertical transmission
Summary
Immigrants in Switzerland the long-lasting, chronic, asymptomatic phase of the disease and are unaware of their infection. A retrospective study to detect Chagas disease showed a prevalence of 9.7% among 72 Latin American women tested during pregnancy in Switzerland. Like most undocumented immigrants recently arrived in Switzerland, she had received no medical supervision during her pregnancy She stated that a blood test for T. cruzi, conducted in Bolivia, had been negative. T. cruzi serologic testing by immunofluorescence was positive for the mother, and blood microscopic examination and PCR were positive for the newborn, confirming vertical transmission. The Study In response to these 2 cases, in 2007, a retrospective serologic survey for T. cruzi infection was performed on stored serum samples from 72 undocumented pregnant Latin American women who had received prenatal care at the Geneva University Hospitals during the previous year.
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