Serological and molecular inquiry of Chagas disease in an Afro-descendant settlement in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil

• Published in: PloS one 2018-01, Vol.13 (1), p.e0189448-e0189448
• Main Authors: Martins, Mariana Furquim da Silva, Pereira, Mariane Barroso, Ferreira, Juliana de Jesus Guimarães, França, Adriana de Oliveira, Cominetti, Marlon Cézar, Ferreira, Eduardo de Castro, Dorval, Maria Elizabeth Moraes Cavalheiros, Rossi, Cláudio Lúcio, Mazon, Sílvia de Barros, de Almeida, Eros Antonio, Costa, Sandra Cecília Botelho, Marcon, Gláucia Elisete Barbosa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Antibodies; Antibodies, Protozoan - blood; Biology and Life Sciences; Black People; Brazil - epidemiology; Chagas disease; Chagas Disease - blood; Chagas Disease - epidemiology; Chagas Disease - genetics; Child; Conservation; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Female; Households; Humans; Immunoglobulins; Insects; Laboratories; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Middle Aged; Parasitic diseases; People and places; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Protozoa; Questionnaires; Research and Analysis Methods; Satellite DNA; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serological tests; Tropical diseases; Trypanosoma cruzi - genetics; Trypanosoma cruzi - immunology; Vector-borne diseases; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189448

Furnas do Dionísio is a Brazilian Afro-descendant settlement in the city of Jaraguari, 21.4 miles from Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Approximately 96 families live in this quilombola (Maroon) settlement, also known in Brazil as a remnant community of descendants of African slaves. Recent studies found 20% of households were infested by triatomines, 18% of insects captured in the community were infected by Trypanosoma cruzi, and 22.7% of dogs presented T. cruzi antibodies. The low prevalence of Chagas disease observed in humans in Mato Grosso do Sul State is attributed to its arrival via colonist migration and subsequent transplacental transmission. In order to gain a better understanding of the T. cruzi cycle in residents of the study community, serological and molecular tests were carried out to diagnose Chagas disease. In the present study, 175 residents between 2 and 80 years old were included. A total of 175 participants were interviewed and 170 provided blood samples, which were tested for T. cruzi antibodies with serological tests. Molecular diagnosis was performed in 167 participants by PCR (KDNA) and NPCR (satellite DNA) tests. One of the 170 samples tested positive for all serological tests performed. The overall frequency of Chagas disease in the community was low (0.6%). Interview responses revealed that 66.3% knew of triatomine insects and 65.7% reported having had no contact with them. Physical improvements to residences, together with vector surveillance and control by the State and municipal governments and local ecological conservation contribute to the low frequency of the Chagas disease in this quilombola community.