Cases Of Acute Chagas Disease Research Articles

Enfermedad de Chagas aguda en Colombia, una entidad poco sospechada. Informe de 10 casos presentados en el periodo 2002 a 2005

In Colombia, reported cases of acute Chagas disease are sporadic. Ten cases were described that had been reported to the Parasitology Laboratory of the Colombian National Health Institute between December 2002 and November 2005. Information from clinical records, epidemiological report forms, laboratory and blood tests was collated. In addition the following data were compiled: demographic variables, clinical findings, results of laboratory tests and other exams (such as peripheral blood smears), IFAT for IgG antibodies, isolation in culture medium, inoculation in mice, polymerase chain reaction tests and isoenzyme eletrophoresis. All the cases presented in known endemic areas for Chagas disease transmission in Colombia. Three cases were from Putumayo Province, two each from the provinces of Arauca, Casanare, Norte de Santander and one from Santander Province. The probable mode of transmission was vector-borne. Seven cases presented in adults aged 18 to 50, three in children aged 6 months to 2 years. Seven were male and three were female. The most frequent symptom was fever in nine cases. Signs of portal of entry were rare; only one patient presented a possible Romahia's sign. Three patients presented myocarditis, two acute cardiac failure and one cardiac tamponade. Parasitemia was evident in nine cases; five had positive IgG serological tests; five cases were confirmed through parasite isolation; isoenzyme electrophoresis showed Trypanosoma cruzi group I. Clinical variability prevailed. In none of the cases was a clinical diagnosis suspected. The diagnosis was made and confirmed through laboratory tests alone. The results highlight the importance of including this disease in the differential diagnosis of febrile syndrome in endemic regions due to its good response to etiological treatment and thereby preventing its progression to the chronic phase.

The impact of the extensive chemical control of Triatoma infestans on the incidence of acute cases and the prevalence of human Chagas disease. The example of Montalvânia, Minas Gerais State

From the emergency of acute cases of Chagas Disease in Montalvânia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, with the implementation of triatomine chemical control, the disappearing of these cases and the immediate reduction of incidence of the infection in the municipality are verified. The evolution of the dispersion and control of Triatoma infestans in Montalvânia and the evolution of the serology in general population during the last thirty years are showed.

Case report: the first parasitologically confirmed autochthonous case of acute chagas disease in Suriname

We present a case report from 2001 of the first parasitologically confirmed case of acute Chagas disease in Suriname. The patient had never left Suriname, and was probably infected by an adventitious species of Panstrongylus in his house in the capital city, Paramaribo. The patient was treated with nifurtimox, and appears to have recovered.

Habitats, dispersion and invasion of sylvatic Triatoma dimidiata (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) in Petén, Guatemala.

Dispersion and invasion capacity of sylvatic populations of Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille) were investigated during 14 mo by means of experimental chicken coops installed in a nature reserve within the Maya Biosphere, Petén, Guatemala. In addition, palm trees, underground archeological holes (chultunes) and piles of limestones within the forest were inspected as potential sylvatic habitats of T. dimidiata. From the three types of sylvatic habitats we inspected, all served as shelter and breeding sites for T dimidiata. The natural infection of these bugs (n = 72) with Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas) was high (25%) and represent a risk for humans who colonize the forest. T. dimidiata quickly invaded the experimental chicken coops installed in the primary forest, albeit at very low densities. However, only one adult bug was encountered in the chicken coops installed in a secondary forest. Dispersal of adult T. dimidiata was most apparent at the end of the dry season. Overall, our results indicate a potential risk for invasion by sylvatic T. dimidiata of domestic environments in this area, with a risk of T. cruzi transmission to humans. We suggest that a system of community-based surveillance should be developed to detect new infestations and organize prompt treatment of any new cases of acute Chagas disease that may result.

Host-feeding patterns of domiciliary Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in Northwest Argentina: seasonal and instar variation.

Blood meal sources of 1,964 Triatoma infestans Klug collected in bedrooms in 3 rural villages in northwest Argentina were identified by agar double-diffusion tests. Bugs were collected in September (1988, end of winter), October (1992), December (1988, spring), and March (1989, 1992, summer), and tested for human, dog, cat, chicken-duck, and goat-sheep serum antigens. From late winter to late summer, the percentage of domiciliary T. infestans that fed on humans decreased from 81 to 50-51%, whereas the percentage of bugs that fed on dogs rose from 39 to 45-57%, on chickens from 8 to 40-54%, and on cats from 7 to 12-23%. Bugs that fed on goat-sheep (2%) were collected mostly from 1 house. In winter, most bugs fed on humans only (48%), followed by dogs only (13%), cats only, or chickens only (approximately 1%). In spring-summer, the percentages of bugs that fed exclusively on humans (19%), dogs (16%), or chickens (17%) were similar. The seasonal shift was associated closely with changes in the sleeping places of people from indoors in winter to verandahs in summer, and with the presence of brooding hens or ducks in or close to bedrooms in spring-summer. In spring-summer, at each instar, bugs had more identified blood meals, switched hosts from earlier instars, fed on a larger number of different host types, and took mixed meals more frequently than in winter. Bugs collected from walls, roofs and household goods showed similar blood-feeding patterns, whereas bugs from beds showed the highest frequency of human meals. The increased anthropophagy of domiciliary T. infestans populations at the end of winter and during spring precedes or coincides with the spring peak incidence of acute cases of Chagas disease in the region. This is the 1st report documenting seasonal variation in host selection of any triatomine species.