Lack of evidence of seronegative infection in an endemic area of Chagas disease

Authors

  • Léa Campos de Oliveira Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, Hospital das Clínicas
  • Tzong-Hae Lee Blood Systems Research Institute
  • Ariela Mota Ferreira Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros
  • Ana Luiza Bierrenbach Hospital Sírio-Libanês, Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa
  • Marcela de Souza-Basqueira Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
  • Cláudia Di Lorenzo Oliveira Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei
  • Clareci Silva Cardoso Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei
  • Carlos Henrique Valente Moreira Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
  • Marcio K. Oikawa Universidade Federal do ABC
  • Antonio Luiz P. Ribeiro Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Medicina, Hospital das Clínicas
  • Michael P Busch Blood Systems Research Institute
  • Ester Cerdeira Sabino Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S1678-9946201961011

Keywords:

Chagas disease, Diagnosis, Infectious diseases, Prevention and control

Abstract

The diagnosis of Chagas disease is based on the detection of Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi)-specific antibodies. Nonetheless, there is concern about the sensitivity of current serological assays due to reports of T. cruzi PCR positivity among seronegative individuals. The aim of this study was to evaluate if T. cruzi seronegative infections occur in endemic areas. We recruited 2,157 individuals that were identified as having Chagas disease in a public health system database of an endemic region in Brazil. All participants were interviewed and 2,091 had a sample collected for serological and PCR testing. From these, 149 (7.1%) had negative serological results. PCR was positive in 610 samples (31.4%) of the 1,942 seropositive samples but in none of the 149 samples from seronegative participants. True T. cruzi seronegative infections seem to be rare (95% CI 0-3.7) and should not be a concern for blood supply, which relies on antibody screening.

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Published

2019-02-07

Issue

Vol. 61 (2019)

Section

Brief Communication

How to Cite

Oliveira, L. C. de, Lee, T.-H., Ferreira, A. M., Bierrenbach, A. L., Souza-Basqueira, M. de, Oliveira, C. D. L., Cardoso, C. S., Moreira, C. H. V., Oikawa, M. K., Ribeiro, A. L. P., Busch, M. P., & Sabino, E. C. (2019). Lack of evidence of seronegative infection in an endemic area of Chagas disease. Revista Do Instituto De Medicina Tropical De São Paulo, 61, e11. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1678-9946201961011