Seroprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in French Guiana

BLOOD DONORS AND BLOOD COLLECTION: Testing blood donors for Chagas disease in the Paris area, France: first results after 18 months of screening

“…Currently, 80 million people are still at risk of infection in Central and South America. Moreover, the disease has been spreading over the past 10 years in some places, such as the Amazon Basin 11 and French Guiana 12‐16 . Infection acquired from blood components, organ transplantation, or congenital transmission, from individuals in the prolonged asymptomatic phase of the disease, continues to pose a threat.…”

“…In France, data from the Institut National de Veille Sanitaire have shown an increase in the number of cases over the past 10 years 12‐16 in French Guiana. A hospital‐based study in the Paris area confirmed the existence of Chagas disease in patients moving from LA to the Paris area 28,29 .…”

Other Forms of Transmission

“…However, many of the immigrants from Latin America were regular blood donors in the USA, where donors are paid for their blood. For example, circulation of T. cruzi was suspected in a blood bank in Cayenne, French Guiana, resulting in its closure in 2005 (Aznar et al, 2004) while a testing policy was created. The USA was the first country to make tests for T. cruzi obligatory, thereby acting against the spread of Chagas disease by blood transfusion.…”

Red Blood Cell Exchange in children with Sickle Cell Disease in French Guiana

“…April 2005[22]. Approximately two-thirds of the supply of packed RBC in French Guiana comes from mainland France and one-third comes from the Guadeloupian French Blood Establishment.…”