Mother-to-Child Transmission of Chagas Disease in El Salvador

To estimate the incidence (any mother to child) and rate (from seropositive mother to child) of mother-to-child transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, a serological census was conducted, targeting pregnant women and infants born to seropositive mothers, in four municipalities of El Salvador. Of 943 preg...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 2015-08, Vol.93 (2), p.326-333
Main Authors: Sasagawa, Emi, Aiga, Hirotsugu, Corado Soriano, Edith Yanira, Cuyuch Marroquín, Blanca Leticia, Hernández Ramírez, Marta Alicia, Guevara de Aguilar, Ana Vilma, Romero Chévez, José Eduardo, Ramos Hernández, Hector Manuel, Cedillos, Rafael Antonio, Misago, Chizuru, Kita, Kiyoshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chagas Disease - epidemiology
Chagas Disease - transmission
El Salvador - epidemiology
Female
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Incidence
Infant
Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical
Male
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - epidemiology
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - parasitology
Treponema pallidum
Trypanosoma cruzi
Trypanosoma cruzi - isolation & purification
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Summary:To estimate the incidence (any mother to child) and rate (from seropositive mother to child) of mother-to-child transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, a serological census was conducted, targeting pregnant women and infants born to seropositive mothers, in four municipalities of El Salvador. Of 943 pregnant women, 36 (3.8%) were seropositive for T. cruzi. Of 36, 32 proceeded to serological tests of their infants when they became 6-8 months of age. Six infants seropositive at the age of 6-8 months further proceeded to second-stage serological test at the age of 9-16 months. As the result, one infant was congenitally infected. Thus, serological tests at the age of 6-8 months produced five false positives. To ensure earlier effective medication only for true positives, identification of seropositive infants at the age of 9-16 months is crucial. Incidence and rate of mother-to-child transmission were 0.14 (per 100 person-years) and 4.0%, respectively. Estimated number of children infected through mother-to-child transmission in El Salvador (170 per year) was much higher than that of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; seven per year). It is recommended that serological testing for T. cruzi be integrated into those for HIV and syphilis as part of antenatal care package.
ISSN:0002-9637
1476-1645
DOI:10.4269/ajtmh.14-0425