Seroprevalence of Chagas infection in the donor population

Abstract

We retrospectively calculated the prevalence and epidemiologic characteristics of Chagas infection in the New York blood donor population over three years utilizing the New York Blood Center's database of the New York metropolitan area donor population. Seventy Trypanosoma cruzi positive donors were identified from among 876,614 donors over a 3-year period, giving an adjusted prevalence of 0.0083%, with 0.0080% in 2007, 0.0073% in 2008, and 0.0097% in 2009. When filtered only for self-described "Hispanic/Latino" donors, there were 52 Chagas positive donors in that 3-year period (among 105,122 self-described Hispanic donors) with an adjusted prevalence of 0.052%, with 0.055% in 2007, 0.047% in 2008, and 0.053% in 2009. In conclusion, we found a persistent population of patients with Chagas infection in the New York metropolitan area donor population. There was geographic localization of cases which aligned with Latin American immigration clusters.

Figure 1. Chagas Positive Donors in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York, 2007 to 2009.

Utilizing their contact zip codes, each donor was located on a map of eastern Long Island (New York) showing its Foreign Born Hispanic Population (population estimate from 2005–2006). Population analysis and underlying cartography modified/used with permission by Lee Hachadoorian, Center for Urban Research, City University of New York, 2007.