Mother-to-child transmission of Chagas' disease in North America: why don't we do more?
- PMID: 17602289
- DOI: 10.1007/s10995-007-0246-8
Mother-to-child transmission of Chagas' disease in North America: why don't we do more?
Abstract
Objectives: Mothers with Chagas' disease can transmit Trypanosoma cruzi to their fetuses, who often become carriers of the infection and are then at risk of developing severe cardiac disease later in the course of their lives. If identified early enough after birth, the infected newborns can be treated and cured. Our objective was to review the data available in Canada, Mexico, and the United States and to discuss the need for prevention programs.
Methods: We reviewed the literature and estimated the number of seropositive mothers and newborns infected by T. cruzi.
Results: We estimate that about 40,000 pregnant women and 2,000 newborns are likely to be infected by T. cruzi in North America. We have not identified any ongoing prevention programs.
Conclusions: Mother-to-child transmission of T. cruzi has all the characteristics required to be a public health priority, as it is relatively frequent, severe, identifiable, and treatable. In reality, it is a neglected disease and a missed opportunity. It is urgent to better understand the epidemiology of mother-to-child transmission of T. cruzi in North America and to develop effective prevention programs.
Similar articles
-
[Screening for congenital infection by Trypanosoma cruzi in France].Bull Soc Pathol Exot. 2009 Dec;102(5):300-9. Bull Soc Pathol Exot. 2009. PMID: 20131424 Review. French.
-
Trypanosoma cruzi seroprevalence in pregnant women and screening by PCR and microhaematocrit in newborns from Guanajuato, Mexico.Acta Trop. 2016 Dec;164:100-106. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2016.08.029. Epub 2016 Sep 3. Acta Trop. 2016. PMID: 27596439
-
High prevalence of congenital Trypanosoma cruzi infection and family clustering in Salta, Argentina.Pediatrics. 2005 Jun;115(6):e668-72. doi: 10.1542/peds.2004-1732. Pediatrics. 2005. PMID: 15930194
-
Mother-to-child transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi infection (Chagas disease): a neglected problem.Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2014 Jul;108(7):388-90. doi: 10.1093/trstmh/tru062. Epub 2014 Apr 25. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2014. PMID: 24771504
-
Congenital Chagas disease: an update.Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2015 May;110(3):363-8. doi: 10.1590/0074-02760140405. Epub 2015 Mar 6. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2015. PMID: 25760448 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Texas and Mexico: sharing a legacy of poverty and neglected tropical diseases.PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2012;6(3):e1497. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001497. Epub 2012 Mar 27. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2012. PMID: 22479656 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
-
Importance of nonenteric protozoan infections in immunocompromised people.Clin Microbiol Rev. 2010 Oct;23(4):795-836. doi: 10.1128/CMR.00001-10. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2010. PMID: 20930074 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Estimating the current burden of Chagas disease in Mexico: A systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological surveys from 2006 to 2017.PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019 Apr 9;13(4):e0006859. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006859. eCollection 2019 Apr. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019. PMID: 30964871 Free PMC article.
-
Do commercial serologic tests for Trypanosoma cruzi infection detect Mexican strains in women and newborns?J Parasitol. 2011 Apr;97(2):338-43. doi: 10.1645/GE-2545.1. Epub 2010 Oct 21. J Parasitol. 2011. PMID: 21506787 Free PMC article.
-
Parasitic loads in tissues of mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi and treated with AmBisome.PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2011 Jun;5(6):e1216. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001216. Epub 2011 Jun 28. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2011. PMID: 21738811 Free PMC article.
References
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical