Prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi/HIV coinfection in southern Brazil

Abstract

Chagas disease reactivation has been a defining condition for acquired immune deficiency syndrome in Brazil for individuals coinfected with Trypanosoma cruzi and HIV since 2004. Although the first coinfection case was reported in the 1980s, its prevalence has not been firmly established. In order to know coinfection prevalence, a cross-sectional study of 200 HIV patients was performed between January and July 2013 in the city of Pelotas, in southern Rio Grande do Sul, an endemic area for Chagas disease. Ten subjects were found positive for T. cruzi infection by chemiluminescence microparticle immunoassay and indirect immunofluorescence. The survey showed 5% coinfection prevalence among HIV patients (95% CI: 2.0-8.0), which was 3.8 times as high as that estimated by the Ministry of Health of Brazil. Six individuals had a viral load higher than 100,000copies per μL, a statistically significant difference for T. cruzi presence. These findings highlight the importance of screening HIV patients from Chagas disease endemic areas.

Novel Strategy To Adapt Simian-Human Immunodeficiency Virus E1 Carrying env from an RV144 Volunteer to Rhesus Macaques: Coreceptor Switch and Final Recovery of a Pathogenic Virus with Exclusive R5 Tropism

“…In the context of HIV infection, T. cruzi is considered to be an opportunistic infection, and there is evidence that the two pathogens mutually upregulate each other (13,(34)(35)(36). A recent epidemiological survey in Brazil found a 5% coinfection prevalence in HIV-positive individuals, 3.8 times higher than previously estimated (37).…”

Clinical and epidemiological features of chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection in patients with HIV/AIDS in Buenos Aires, Argentina

“…Since then, T. cruzi-HIV co-infection has been documented in countries where Chagas disease is endemic, as well as in non-endemic countries as a result of the migration flow from Latin America to the rest of the world (Almeida et al, 2011;Salvador et al, 2014Salvador et al, , 2015. The rate of T. cruzi-HIV co-infection ranges from an estimated 1.3% in Brazil, to 5% in endemic areas of Brazil and 7.1% in intravenous drug users in Argentina (Dolcini et al, 2008;Stauffert et al, 2017). Chagas disease reactivation most frequently involves the central nervous system (CNS) (74.2%), followed by myocardial involvement (16.7%) (Almeida et al, 2011).…”

Óbitos Por Moléstias Parasitárias Negligenciadas No Brasil: Doença De Chagas, Esquistossomose, Leishmaniose E Dengue / Deaths Due to Neglected Parasitic Diseases in Brazil: Chagas Disease, Schistosomiasis, Leishmaniasis and Dengue

“…26 Já para a região Sul, embora esta seja a segunda com menos óbitos decorrentes do mal de Chagas, estudos conduzidos na última década no RS, têm mostrado número significativo de casos de DC em indivíduos moradores de áreas rurais, pacientes coinfectados pelo HIV e em pessoas que realizam tratamento para o câncer, mesmo quando comparados com as demais regiões do país. 27,28,29 Brazilian Journal of Development, Curitiba, v.7, n.1, p.7718-7733 jan. 2021…”