Seroprevalence of Chagas disease in schoolchildren from two municipalities of Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil; six years following the onset of epidemiological surveillance

Seroprevalence of Chagas disease in schoolchildren from two municipalities of Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil; six years following the onset of epidemiological surveillance

Six years after the beginning of the epidemiological surveillance of Chagas disease in Berilo and José Gonçalves de Minas, Jequitinhonha Valley, MG, Brazil, a serological inquiry was performed to observe whether the transmission of this endemy was occurring in this area. A randomized sample of 1,412 children seven to 14 years old, was screened. Six asymptomatic children were found to be positive, leading to 0.4% of prevalence. Hemoculture confirmed infection in five out of the six positive cases. Additional epidemiological investigation revealed important antecedents, such as disease reports in relatives and predisposing ecological and housing conditions. Our results demonstrated similar seroprevalence (0.4%) in schoolchildren, ranging from seven to 14 years old, and that were observed six years ago (0.2%) for children 0-9 year-old. Thus, considering the constant presence of Panstrogylus megistus in the peridomicile these findings emphasize the need of continuous improved epidemiological surveillance of Chagas disease in this region.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Borges,Jaila Dias, Assis,Girley Francisco Machado de, Gomes,Lizziani Vasconcelos, Dias,João Carlos Pinto, Pinto,Ildikô Delkim Miranda, Martins-Filho,Olindo Assis, Torres,Rosália Morais, Viñas,Pedro Albajar, Bahia,Maria Terezinha, Machado-Coelho,George Luiz Lins, Lana,Marta de
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo 2006
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0036-46652006000200005
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Summary:Six years after the beginning of the epidemiological surveillance of Chagas disease in Berilo and José Gonçalves de Minas, Jequitinhonha Valley, MG, Brazil, a serological inquiry was performed to observe whether the transmission of this endemy was occurring in this area. A randomized sample of 1,412 children seven to 14 years old, was screened. Six asymptomatic children were found to be positive, leading to 0.4% of prevalence. Hemoculture confirmed infection in five out of the six positive cases. Additional epidemiological investigation revealed important antecedents, such as disease reports in relatives and predisposing ecological and housing conditions. Our results demonstrated similar seroprevalence (0.4%) in schoolchildren, ranging from seven to 14 years old, and that were observed six years ago (0.2%) for children 0-9 year-old. Thus, considering the constant presence of Panstrogylus megistus in the peridomicile these findings emphasize the need of continuous improved epidemiological surveillance of Chagas disease in this region.

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