Chagas Disease: “The New HIV/AIDS of the Americas”

Hotez, Peter J.; Dumonteil, Eric; Woc-Colburn, Laila; Serpa, José A.; Bezek, Sarah; Edwards, Morven S.; Hallmark, Camden J.; Musselwhite, Laura W.; Flink, Benjamin J.; Bottazzi, María Elena

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001498

Cited by 187 publications

(136 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…2 Infection with T. cruzi causes mortality in 14,000 people 3 and morbidity in up to 10 million people in the continental Western Hemisphere, resulting in a substantial disease burden in the 22 endemic countries. 4 In recent years, intensification of the migratory flow due to socioeconomic factors has increased T. cruzi infection beyond the borders of Latin America, becoming a worldwide health concern, particularly in the United States, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Japan. 5,6 As a result, blood transfusion is now a risk for transmission in many areas of the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic Chagas Disease Diagnosis: A Comparative Performance of Commercial Enzyme Immunoassay Tests

Santos¹,

Souza²,

Barros³

et al. 2016

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. There is a significant heterogeneity in reported performance of serological assays for Chagas disease diagnosis. The conventional serology testing in laboratory diagnosis and in blood banks is unsatisfactory because of a high number of inconclusive and misclassified results. We aimed to assess the quality of four commercially available enzymelinked immunosorbent assay tests for their ability to detect Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies in 685 sera samples. Crossreactivity was assessed by using 748 sera from patients with unrelated diseases. Initially, we found that the reactivity index against T. cruzi antigen was statistically higher in sera from Chagas disease patients compared with those from non-chagasic patients, supporting the notion that all evaluated tests have a good discriminatory ability toward the diagnosis of T. cruzi infection in patients in the chronic phase of the disease. Although all tests were similarly sensitive for diagnosing T. cruzi infection, there were significant variations in terms of specificity and cross-reactivity among them. Indeed, we obtained divergent results when testing sera from patient with unrelated diseases, particularly leishmaniasis, with the levels of cross-reactivity being higher in tests using whole T. cruzi extracts compared with those using recombinant proteins. Our data suggest that all four tests may be used for the laboratory diagnosis and routine blood screening diagnose for Chagas disease. We also emphasize that, despite their general good performance, caution is needed when analyzing the results when these tests are performed in areas where other diseases, particularly leishmaniasis, are endemic.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic Chagas Disease Diagnosis: A Comparative Performance of Commercial Enzyme Immunoassay Tests

Santos¹,

Souza²,

Barros³

et al. 2016

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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“…Thus, only in the United States, 300,000 to 1 million people are now infected. 4 Nonvectorial mechanisms, such as congenital, blood transfusions, organ transplantation from donors infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, as well as ingestion of contaminated foods, are considered to be largely responsible. 5 Although during the last two decades great strides in the study of T. cruzi genetics and its relationship with the host immune system have occurred, there is still no effective safe cure for this disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Triatoma infestans Calreticulin: Gene Cloning and Expression of a Main Domain That Interacts with the Host Complement System

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Triatoma infestans is an important hematophagous vector of Chagas disease, a neglected chronic illness affecting approximately 6 million people in Latin America. Hematophagous insects possess several molecules in their saliva that counteract host defensive responses. Calreticulin (CRT), a multifunctional protein secreted in saliva, contributes to the feeding process in some insects. Human CRT (HuCRT) and Trypanosoma cruzi CRT (TcCRT) inhibit the classical pathway of complement activation, mainly by interacting through their central S domain with complement component C1. In previous studies, we have detected CRT in salivary gland extracts from T. infestans. We have called this molecule TiCRT. Given that the S domain is responsible for C1 binding, we have tested its role in the classical pathway of complement activation in vertebrate blood. We have cloned and characterized the complete nucleotide sequence of CRT from T. infestans, and expressed its S domain. As expected, this S domain binds to human C1 and, as a consequence, it inhibits the classical pathway of complement, at its earliest stage of activation, namely the generation of C4b. Possibly, the presence of TiCRT in the salivary gland represents an evolutionary adaptation in hematophagous insects to control a potential activation of complement proteins, present in the massive blood meal that they ingest, with deleterious consequences at least on the anterior digestive tract of these insects.

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“…As discussed by Fenwick [4], Chagas disease and leishmaniasis are included in the group of the most neglected tropical diseases in the world. The Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosomacruzi and affects approximately 10 million individuals throughout Latin America [5,6]. Regarding leishmaniasis (group of diseases ranging from cutaneous lesions to fatal visceral infections and systemic), it is estimated that there are currently 12 million people infected worldwide at least 88 countries [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional Deficiencies and Neglected Tropical Disease

Malafaia¹

2015

Biol Syst Open Access

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Chagas Disease: “The New HIV/AIDS of the Americas”

Cited by 187 publications

References 28 publications

Chronic Chagas Disease Diagnosis: A Comparative Performance of Commercial Enzyme Immunoassay Tests

Chronic Chagas Disease Diagnosis: A Comparative Performance of Commercial Enzyme Immunoassay Tests

Triatoma infestans Calreticulin: Gene Cloning and Expression of a Main Domain That Interacts with the Host Complement System

Nutritional Deficiencies and Neglected Tropical Disease

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