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Analysis
The burden of congenital Chagas disease and implementation of molecular diagnostic tools in Latin America
  1. Albert Picado1,
  2. Israel Cruz1,
  3. Maël Redard-Jacot1,
  4. Alejandro G Schijman2,
  5. Faustino Torrico3,4,
  6. Sergio Sosa-Estani5,6,
  7. Zachary Katz1,
  8. Joseph Mathu Ndung’u1
  1. 1 Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), Geneva, Switzerland
  2. 2 Laboratorio de Biología Molecular de la Enfermedad de Chagas, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor Torres", Buenos Aires, Argentina
  3. 3 Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba, Bolivia
  4. 4 Fundación CEADES, Cochabamba, Bolivia
  5. 5 Centro de Investigación de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIESP-IECS), CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  6. 6 Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  1. Correspondence to Dr Albert Picado; albert.picado{at}finddx.org

Abstract

It is estimated that between 8000 and 15 000 Trypanosoma cruzi infected babies are born every year to infected mothers in Chagas disease endemic countries. Currently, poor access to and performance of the current diagnostic algorithm, based on microscopy at birth and serology at 8–12 months after delivery, is one of the barriers to congenital Chagas disease (CCD) control. Detection of parasite DNA using molecular diagnostic tools could be an alternative or complement to current diagnostic methods, but its implementation in endemic regions remains limited. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of CCD cases would have a positive clinical and epidemiological impact. In this paper, we analysed the burden of CCD in Latin America, and the potential use of molecular tests to improve access to early diagnosis and treatment of T. cruzi infected newborns.

  • chagas disease
  • molecular tools
  • PCR
  • LAMP
  • Trypanosoma cruzi

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2018-001069

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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Dr Alberto L Garcia-Basteiro

    • Contributors AP, IC and MR-J analysed the data. AP drafted the first version of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the final version of the manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests AP, IC, MR-J, ZK and JMN are employees of the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND). FIND contributed to the development of the Loopamp Trypanosoma cruzi Detection Kit. However, FIND does not have any financial interest in the product. The other authors declare that no competing interests exist.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data statement No additional data are available.