Chagas disease in a community in Southeast Brazil: I. A serlogic follow-up study on a vectorcontrolled area

• Main Authors: Roberto Montoya, João Carlos Pinto Dias, José Rodrigues Coura
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2003
• Subjects: T. cruzi infection; Chagas' disease prevalence; Epidemiology; Vectorial control; Chagas disease transmission; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/d08c46acb1434e838c79ccef5bccab38

The prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection was evaluated in Berilo, Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil, from January to July 1997. A serological survey using the indirect immunofluorescence test (IFT) in dried blood collected on filter-paper was performed in a sample of 2,261 individuals. The overall prevalence rate of T. cruzi infection was 18%, and reached 50% in individuals older than 30 years from rural areas. The percentage of seropositivity was 0.17% among individuals younger than 10 years old, suggesting that vectorial transmission is controlled in the area. A decrease in prevalence rates among people born after 1960 and 1970 was observed and this appears to be correlated with the beginning of control programs. A reduction in T. cruzi infection rates was observed when comparing our results with the rates estimated in a serologic study carried out in Berilo in 1983(11).