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The results of the study showed that the prevalence of Chagas disease could be up to eight times higher in family members of infected patients than in the rest of the community, suggesting that relatives have a particularly high risk of infection, which is transmitted to humans by insects. , the researchers said.
According to the results of a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, relatives of patients with Chagas disease in Los Angeles have a disease prevalence of 7.4%. The prevalence is even higher among adults – 10.4%.
The researchers compared these findings with the results of a large-scale community-based adult screening of Latin American adults in Los Angeles, which revealed a prevalence of 1.24%.
"Chagas disease (CD), caused by the protozoan Trypanosomy cRuzi, affects more than 6 million people worldwide, including more than 300,000 in the United States, " Salvador Hernandez, MD, Project Manager Chagas Clinic Center of Excellence for the Treatment of Chagas Disease (CECD) Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, wrote his colleagues. "Timely treatment with antitrypanosomal drugs improves CD morbidity and mortality and eliminates the risk of conbad transmission."
According to Hernandez and his colleagues, such treatments should be administered to asymptomatic patients who are probably unaware of the disease. In the United States, less than 1% of patients with the disease have been diagnosed and treated etiologically, the researchers wrote.
Between August 2007 and February 2017, Hernandez and his colleagues tested in Los Angeles 189 children, parents, brothers and sisters and spouses of 86 CD-infected patients in Los Angeles, who had been asked to bring their close relatives that they are tested. They tested blood samples for T. cruzi antibodies and confirmed the results with the CDC.
Family members tested ranged from 73-year-olds to newborns. While almost half of the family members were born in the United States, others come from El Salvador, Mexico or other Latin American countries. Seventy-three percent had a parent (mother, n = 114, father, n = 24) with CD.
Fourteen family members had a positive diagnosis of CM for an overall prevalence of 7.4%. A treatment was proposed to these participants. Six of them received treatment, four declined treatment and four were lost to follow-up.
Hernandez and his colleagues said that their study was based on a sample of convenience, and its results can not be generalized outside of Los Angeles.
"The infected family members we identified tended to be older, but the ideal would be for the CDs to be identified and treated much earlier," the researchers wrote.
"There is a need to significantly expand screening programs, which are currently virtually non-existent outside blood banks and organ donations," they wrote. "Our study suggests that when American patients are diagnosed with CD, their immediate family members are at high risk and should also be screened." – by Bruce Thiel
Disclosures: Hernandez does not report any relevant financial information. Please consult the study for the relevant financial information of all other authors.
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