Higher congenital transmission rate of Trypanosoma cruzi associated with family history of congenital transmission.

Introduction: Congenital transmission (CT) of Trypanosoma cruzi has led to globalization of Chagas disease and its growing relevance as a public health problem. Although the occurrence of CT has been associated with several factors, its mechanisms are still unknown. This study aimed to analyze the geographical and familiar variables of mothers and their association with CT of Chagas disease in a population living in non-endemic areas of Argentina for the last decades.

Electrocardiographic Abnormalities and Treatment with Benznidazole among Children with Chronic Infection by Trypanosoma cruzi: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Chronic infection by Trypanosoma cruzi could cause heart conduction disturbances. We sought to analyze electrocardiographic abnormalities among children with chronic T. cruzi infection with and without trypanocidal treatment with benznidazole.

Integrated control of Chagas disease for its elimination as public health problem--a review.

Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is, together with geohelminths, the neglected disease that causes more loss of years of healthy life due to disability in Latin America. Chagas disease, as determined by the factors and determinants, shows that different contexts require different actions, preventing new cases or reducing the burden of disease. Control strategies must combine two general courses of action including prevention of transmission to prevent the occurrence of new cases (these measures are cost effective), as well as opportune diagnosis and treatment of infected individuals in order to prevent the clinical evolution of the disease and to allow them to recuperate their health.

Fine-scale genetic structure in populations of the Chagas' disease vector Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera, Reduvidae).

Fine scale patterns of genetic structure and dispersal in Triatoma infestans populations from Argentina was analysed. A total of 314 insects from 22 domestic and peridomestic sites from the locality of San Martín (Capayán department, Catamarca province) were typed for 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci. The results confirm subdivision of T.

Therapy of chagas disease: implications for levels of prevention.

This paper reviews the evidence supporting the use of etiological treatment for Chagas disease that has changed the standard of care for patients with Trypanosoma cruzi infection in the last decades. Implications of this evidence on different levels of prevention as well as gaps in current knowledge are also discussed. In this regard, etiological treatment has shown to be beneficial as an intervention for secondary prevention to successfully cure the infection or to delay, reduce, or prevent the progression to disease, and as primary disease prevention by breaking the chain of transmission.

Early diagnosis of congenital Trypanosoma cruzi infection, using shed acute phase antigen, in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

Chagas' disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanasoma cruzi. It is estimated that 15,000 new cases of congenital T. cruzi transmission occur in the Americas each year.

Etiological treatment of young women infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, and prevention of congenital transmission.

The objective was to detect Trypanosoma cruzi infection in 32 children in Salta, Argentina, born to 16 chronically infected young women who were treated with benznidazole. Tests were performed to assess the efficacy of treatment after 14 years. At the end of the follow up, 87.

Therapy, diagnosis and prognosis of chronic Chagas disease: insight gained in Argentina.

The purpose of this review is to describe research findings regarding chronic Chagas disease in Argentina that have changed the standards of care for patients with Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Indirect techniques (serological tests) are still the main tools for the primary diagnosis of infection in the chronic phase, but polymerase chain reaction has been shown to be promising. The prognosis of patients with heart failure or advanced stages of chagasic cardiomyopathy is poor, but a timely diagnosis during the initial stages of the disease would allow for prescription of appropriate therapies to offer a better quality of life.

Sustainable vector control and management of Chagas disease in the Gran Chaco, Argentina.

Chagas disease remains a serious obstacle to health and economic development in Latin America, especially for the rural poor. We report the long-term effects of interventions in rural villages in northern Argentina during 1984-2006. Two community-wide campaigns of residual insecticide spraying immediately and strongly reduced domestic infestation and infection with Trypanosoma cruzi in Triatoma infestans bugs and dogs and more gradually reduced the seroprevalence of children <15 years of age.

Macrogeographic and microgeographic genetic structure of the Chagas' disease vector Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) from Catamarca, Argentina.

The genetic structure in populations of the Chagas' disease vector Triatoma infestans from six localities belonging to areas under the same insecticide treatment conditions of Catamarca province (Argentina) was examined at macrogeographical and microgeographical scales. A total of 238 insects were typed for 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci. The average observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.

Microsatellite analysis of genetic structure in natural Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) populations from Argentina: its implication in assessing the effectiveness of Chagas' disease vector control programmes.

The genetic structure in populations of the Chagas' disease vector Triatoma infestans was examined. Comparisons of the levels of genetic variability in populations of this species from areas with different periods since last insecticide treatment and from areas that never received treatment were also carried out. A total of 598 insects from 19 populations were typed for 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci.

Etiological treatment in patients infected by Trypanosoma cruzi: experiences in Argentina.

Purpose Of Review: The aim of this review is to describe knowledge, mainly of the last 15 years, that changed criteria for specific treatment against Trypanosoma cruzi infection.

Recent Findings: Over the past 15 years, there has been an increase in the use of new methodologies to evaluate the efficacy of antiparasitic treatments. These tools showed that the evaluation period for trypanocidal treatment effectiveness could be shortened.

Spatial pattern of reinfestation by Triatoma infestans in Chancanif, Argentina.

We examined the environmental correlates and the spatial pattern of infestation by Triatoma infestans, a vector of Chagas disease, in a rural area of Argentina five years following an insecticidal campaign. Patterns of infestation were identified in an entomological survey, as mapped with high-resolution satellite imagery and analyzed in a geographic information system. Logistic regression was used to relate infestation to observed household characteristics as well as the location and density of households.

[Epidemiology of Chagas disease in the state of Veracruz].

Objective: To assess the seroprevalence, household risk factors, and entomological indicators, in order to frame control measures in 11 Sanitary Jurisdictions of the state.

Material And Methods: This study included 281 towns, 2 526 households, and 9782 individuals. Data were collected using a questionnaire.

Distribution and pathogenicity of Trypanosoma cruzi isolated from peridomestic populations of Triatoma infestans and Triatoma guasayana from rural Western Argentina.

We assessed the distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in peridomestic triatomines collected manually at a district-wide scale in rural villages around Olta, Western Argentina, and typed the isolated strains according to their pathogenicity to laboratory mice. Of 1623 triatomines examined, only 14 (0.9%) were infected with T.

Incidence of trypanosoma cruzi infection among children following domestic reinfestation after insecticide spraying in rural northwestern Argentina.

Following increasing reinfestation with Triatoma infestans after insecticide spraying, the household incidence of infection with Trypanosoma cruzi in children was positively related to the domestic abundance of infected T. infestans and the presence or proportion of infected dogs or cats in Amamá, a rural village in northwestern Argentina. Seven (12.

Effectiveness of residual spraying of peridomestic ecotopes with deltamethrin and permethrin on Triatoma infestans in rural western Argentina: a district-wide randomized trial.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of a single residual spraying of pyrethroids on the occurrence and abundance of Triatoma infestans in peridomestic ecotopes in rural La Rioja.

Methods: A total of 667 (32.8%) peridomestic sites positive for T.

[Treatment of Chagas disease with benznidazole and thioctic acid].

A multicenter, randomized, triple blind and controlled trial was designed to determine whether the combination with thioctic acid (TA), an antioxidant agent, can reduce the intolerance rate to Benznidazol (BZ) in patients infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. Four regimens were assigned randomly for 3 age intervals, administrating placebo or TA orally at daily doses of 50 to 100 mg in association with BZ at a dose of 5 mg/k/day for 30 days. In some, medication was given during a run-in period.

Short report: variation in mitochondrial 12S and 16S ribosomal DNA sequences in natural populations of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae).

Mitochondrial DNA sequences of the 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA genes were analyzed in five natural populations of the Chagas' disease vector Triatoma infestans from Argentina. DNA sequence comparisons of 878 basepairs (12S plus 16S) revealed 13 haplotypes. A total of 10 private haplotypes were found in four of the populations analyzed, suggesting low current levels of genetic exchange.

Congenital transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in Argentina.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, infects 10-18 million people and may be transmitted to the newborn. Using various data sources, we estimated that nearly 850 congenital cases occurred in Argentina in 1993, or 6.3 expected cases per each reported case in 1994 and in 1994-2001.

[Hantavirus in human and rodent population in an endemic area for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in Argentina].

This paper analyzed the prevalence and distribution of serological reactivity to hantavirus (antibody against ANDES virus) of human population exposed to hantavirus and rodents trapped in the studied area. This study was developed in Salta (Orán and San Martín Departments), area with the highest incidence for Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) in Argentina. In December 1997, 453 healthy people were studied by serology and 39 rodents by serology and PCR.