Abstract
The Epidemiological Relevance of Family Study in Chagas Disease
Highlights
In order to provide this information, between the years 2008 and 2011 we studied infection by T. cruzi in maternal lines considering as index cases 70 women with chronic Chagas disease, confirmed serologically during the first third of their pregnancies with ELISA (Chagas III kit, GrupoBios SA, Chile) and indirect immunofluorescence (IFI) IgG
Seventy newborns of the index cases were studied by PCR and/or by conventional serology (IFI and ELISA IgG) in umbilical cord at birth and venous blood in follow-up, according to established protocols [7]
Only eight of the 16 infected children have been treated, due fundamentally to the fear of the parents because of the adverse effects they have observed in adults of the zone treated for chronic Chagas disease [9]
Summary
In order to provide this information, between the years 2008 and 2011 we studied infection by T. cruzi in maternal lines considering as index cases 70 women with chronic Chagas disease, confirmed serologically during the first third of their pregnancies with ELISA (Chagas III kit, GrupoBios SA, Chile) and indirect immunofluorescence (IFI) IgG (in-house). The total number of pregnancies in the index group was 159 (range 1–5); they had 144 live children. Educational interviews with the index cases during their pregnancy revealed fears, myths, and lack of information about basic aspects of Chagas disease.
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