Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
medicine
Chagas disease screening in pregnant latin american women: Adherence to a systematic screening protocol in a non-endemic country
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Volume 15, No. 3, Article e0009281, Year 2021
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
Background Chagas disease (CD) is a chronic parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and is endemic to continental Latin America. In Spain, the main transmission route is congenital. We aimed to assess adherence to regional recommendations of universal screening for CD during pregnancy in Latin American women in the province of Alicante from 2014 to 2018. Methodology/Principal findings Retrospective quality study using two data sources: 1) delivery records of Latin American women that gave birth in the 10 public hospitals of Alicante between January 2014 and December 2018; and 2) records of Chagas serologies carried out in those centers between May 2013 and December 2018. There were 3026 deliveries in Latin American women during the study period; 1178 (38.9%) underwent CD serology. Screening adherence ranged from 17.2% to 59.3% in the different health departments and was higher in Bolivian women (48.3%). Twenty-six deliveries (2.2%) had a positive screening; CD was confirmed in 23 (2%) deliveries of 21 women. Bolivians had the highest seroprevalence (21/112; 18.7%), followed by Colombians (1/333; 0.3%) and Ecuadorians (1/348; 0.3%). Of 21 CD-positive women (19 Bolivians, 1 Colombian, 1 Ecuadorian), infection was already known in 12 (57.1%), and 9 (42.9%) had already been treated. Only 1 of the 12 untreated women (8.3%) was treated postpartum. Follow-up started in 20 of the 23 (87.0%) neonates but was com-pleted only in 11 (47.8%); no cases of congenital transmission were detected. Among the 1848 unscreened deliveries, we estimate 43 undiagnosed cases of CD and 1 to 2 unde-tected cases of congenital transmission. Conclusions/Significance Adherence to recommendations of systematic screening for CD in Latin American pregnant women in Alicante can be improved. Strategies to strengthen treatment of postpartum women and monitoring of exposed newborns are needed. Currently, there may be unde-tected cases of congenital transmission in our province. © 2021 Llenas-García et al.
Authors & Co-Authors
Llenas-García, Jara
Spain, Alicante
Hospital Vega Baja
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Wikman-Jorgensen, Philip Erik
Unknown Affiliation
Torrús, Diego
Spain, Alicante
Hospital General Universitario de Alicante
Spain, Alicante
Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research Isabial
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Navarro, Miriam
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Ramos-Rincón, José Manuel
Spain, Elche
Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Spain, Alicante
Hospital General Universitario de Alicante
Spain, Alicante
Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research Isabial
Statistics
Citations: 11
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 5
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1371/journal.pntd.0009281
ISSN:
19352727
Research Areas
Maternal And Child Health
Sexual And Reproductive Health
Study Design
Cohort Study
Participants Gender
Female