Despite the decline in prevalence of Chagas disease in Brazil, the Northeast region of the country has favorable conditions for its resurgence. The study aimed to analyze positive Chagas disease serology rates among blood donors in Piauí State from 2004 to 2013. Prevalence of positive Chagas disease serology in blood donor screening was 1%, ranging from 0.4% in the Uruçuí Regional Health District to 2.4% in the São Raimundo Nonato Regional Health District. Of the state's 220 municipalities, 58.6% reported cases. Only 34.5% of the positive samples in screening were referred for complementary tests, and 84.4% of these showed negative results. Our findings suggest the possibility of persistent vector-borne transmission in areas of Piauí State and the need for measures to improve complementary testing in positive cases detected by screening.
Unfortunately, the factors associated with Chagas disease are still the same pointed out in the scientific literature of decades ago. Our results are in line with the postulate of the 2nd Brazilian Consensus on Chagas disease, regarding the need to develop research that presents new scientific evidence, contributing not only to the Brazilian scenario but also to Latin America.
Background
Asymptomatic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) infection is a risk for transfusion safety. Leukoreduction has been an alternative for the prevention of some blood‐borne diseases, including VL. This study aimed to evaluate the role of leukoreduction of cellular blood components as a control measure for transfusional VL transmission.
Research Design and Methods
A total of 161 polytransfused patients with non‐leukoreduced blood components (HNL), 95 polytransfused with leukoreduced blood components (LH), and 202 non‐transfused (NT) from endemic regions for VL and with a similar epidemiological profile. The detection of antibodies against VL was performed by ELISA and the presence of the parasite was investigated by real‐time PCR. Statistical significance was defined as p < .05.
Results
When comparing three groups, ELISA results were statistically significant (p = .0065). The residual analysis of ELISA showed statistically significant for the HNL group compared to the general group (p = .002; OR: 5.6; CI: 1.7–25.8), demonstrating that individuals who received non‐leukoreduced transfusions are five times more likely to acquire Leishmania infantum infection than the general.
Discussion
Higher prevalence in the group with HNL and low prevalence in those who received LH, similar to NT patients, highlight the risk of transfusional VL transmission and reinforce the role of leukoreduction in its prevention.
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