2023-07-14 10:20:53
Some diseases, such as Chagas disease, seem to be typical of other parts of the world. But, according to a study by Clinical Hospital of BarcelonaNothing is further from reality.
The study, published in “PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases», and led by the Institute of Barcelona Global Health (ISGlobal), shows that a high percentage of people from Latin America are infected by the parasite that causes Chagas disease. This is the conclusion of an analysis of nearly 3,000 people from countries where the disease is endemic and who attended the International Health Service of the Clinical Hospital of Barcelonaduring a period 17 years old.
It is estimated that about 7 million people in the world are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Although the vector that transmits the parasite (the kissing bug) is endemic in 21 Latin American countries, the parasite has spread all over the worldor due to migratory flows. In non-endemic countries, the parasite can be transmitted vertically, from mother to child or, less frequently, through blood or organ donations. In 30-40% of cases, the infection ends up damaging the heart and digestive system, causing Chagas disease.
Therefore, it is recommended that Latin Americans who arrive in the country get the test to treat them if they are infected and, in the case of women of childbearing age, to prevent vertical transmission of the parasite,” he explains. Irene Losadacoordinator of the Chagas Initiative and first co-author of the study, together with Pedro Laynez-Roldanresearcher of ISGlobal and doctor of the International Health Service of the clinic
This retrospective study describes one of the largest samples of people at risk of infection in a non-endemic country: 2,820 Latin Americans, the vast majority of Boliviawho attended the International Health Service of the Clinical Hospital of Barcelona between 2002 and 2019. Of the total number of people analyzed, almost half (47%) were infected with T. cruzi and 17% had cardiac lesions typical of the disease. Although in most cases an electrocardiogram was sufficient to detect the lesions, in 10% it was necessary to perform an echocardiogram. “These results reinforce the importance of echocardiograms in the initial evaluation of patients with T. cruzi infection,” says Laynez-Roldán.
The authors point out that many people arriving from highly endemic regions of Latin America, such as Bolivia, had never been tested. “The infection is clearly underdiagnosed even in Spainone of the European countries with the highest diagnostic coverage”, warns the researcher María Jesús Pinazo.
Most of the cases are women in working agea reflection of migratory flows in recent years, which makes it possible to better target screening and prevention programs.
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