A Trans-Sialidase Peptide Demonstrates High Serological Prevalence Among Infected Populations Across Endemic Regions of Latin America.

Infection by , the agent of Chagas disease, can irreparably damage the cardiac and gastrointestinal systems during decades of parasite persistence and related inflammation in these tissues. Diagnosis of chronic disease requires confirmation by multiple serological assays due to the imperfect performance of existing clinical tests. Current serology tests utilize antigens discovered over three decades ago with small specimen sets predominantly from South America, and lower test performance has been observed in patients who acquired infection in Central America and Mexico.