Detection of Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies in multitransfused patients in Colombia.

Introduction: Chagas disease is a public health problem in Latin America. Even though vector-borne infection is the most important transmission mode for this disease, other modes such as transfusions require evaluation.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of T.

Serological response to Helicobacter pylori infection among Latin American populations with contrasting risks of gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer is a rare outcome of chronic Helicobacter pylori infection. Serologic profiles may reveal bacterial, environmental and/or host factors associated with cancer risk. We therefore compared specific anti-H.

Follow-up of an asymptomatic Chagas disease population of children after treatment with nifurtimox (Lampit) in a sylvatic endemic transmission area of Colombia.

Background: Chagas disease is an anthropozoonosis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Two drugs are currently used for the etiological treatment of the disease: Nifurtimox (Lampit) and Benznidazole. This study presents a quasi-experimental trial (non-control group) of sixty-two patients who were treated for Chagas disease with Nifurtimox (Lampit), and were then followed for 30 months post-treatment.

[Preliminary evaluation of the commercial kit Chagas ( Trypanosoma cruzi ) IgG-ELISA ® in Colombian individuals].

Introduction: The diagnosis of Chagas' disease is essential to provide early treatment and improve patients' prognosis . The discriminatory efficiency of the serological tests varies according to the disease prevalence and the test- antigen used .

Objective: To evaluate the discriminatory efficiency of the commercial kit Chagas ( Trypanosoma cruzi ) IgG-ELISA ® (Nova Tec Immunodiagnostica GmbBH) in a group of Colombian individuals, using indirect immunofluorescence antibody testing (IFAT) and enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) tests as references.

[Reproducibility of serological tests for the diagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in pregnant women in an endemic area of Santander, Colombia].

Introduction: The diagnosis of chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection is supported by serological tests whose reproducibility has not been well documented.

Objective: To evaluate the reproducibility of the serological tests ELISA, IFAT and IHAT for the diagnosis of T. cruzi infection in pregnant women in an endemic zone in Santander.

Blastocystis subtypes detected in humans and animals from Colombia.

Blastocystis is a common enteric protist colonizing probably more than 1 billion people along with a large variety of non-human hosts. This protist has been linked to symptoms and diseases such as abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, flatulence and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Remarkable genetic diversity has been observed, leading to the subdivision of the genus into multiple subtypes (ST), some of which are exclusively found in non-human hosts.

Molecular epidemiology of human oral Chagas disease outbreaks in Colombia.

Background: Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, displays significant genetic variability revealed by six Discrete Typing Units (TcI-TcVI). In this pathology, oral transmission represents an emerging epidemiological scenario where different outbreaks associated to food/beverages consumption have been reported in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela. In Colombia, six human oral outbreaks have been reported corroborating the importance of this transmission route.

[Acute Chagas disease in Colombia: a rarely suspected disease. Report of 10 cases presented during the 2002-2005 period].

Introduction: In Colombia, reported cases of acute Chagas disease are sporadic.

Objective: Ten cases were described that had been reported to the Parasitology Laboratory of the Colombian National Health Institute between December 2002 and November 2005.

Materials And Methods: Information from clinical records, epidemiological report forms, laboratory and blood tests was collated.

[Prevalence of microsporidia and other intestinal parasites in patients with HIV infection, Bogota, 2001].

Opportunistic intestinal parasites are a common cause of diarrhea in HIV-infected patients. To determine the prevalence of microsporidia and other opportunistic parasites infecting HIV patients in Bogotá, Colombia, 115 patients were examined for these infections during the year 2001. The institution and the sample percent from each are as follows: Santa Clara Hospital, 33.