Seroprevalence and sociocultural conditionants of Chagas disease in school aged children of marginal zones of Asunción

• Main Authors: Vera Ninfa I., Maldonado Marisel, Yaluff Gloria, Simancas Luis, Rojas de Arias Antonieta
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 1998
• Subjects: School children; Risk factors; Chagas' disease; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/00b2eeda92cc4f94bcbc0753befc9845

Chagas disease is becoming a public health problem in Latin America due to the wide distribution, the high prevalence, the magnitude of the damage caused and the difficulties to control it. In Paraguay, the disease is mainly distributed in the departments of Paraguari, Cordillera and Central. Prevalence in marginal zones, where migrations from rural populations and endemic areas make possible the urbanization of the disease, has no been studied yet. This is a descriptive study with a cross-sectional sampling and a probabilistic system recruitment carried out in school aged children from marginal zones of Asuncion to determine the prevalence of Chagas' disease. Serological methods, parasite isolation and questionnaires were used to achieve the goals. Nine hundred and fifty three children were studied to determine the prevalence of Chagas' disease in marginal zones which was 1.4%.