Prevalence of antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi among solid organ donors in Southern California: a population at risk

Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite that causes Chagas' disease, is endemic in parts of Mexico, South America, and Central America. Transmission of T. cruzi infection by solid organ transplantation has been reported in Latin America and recently in the United States. To determine the prevalence of T....

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Published inTransplantation Vol. 81; no. 3; p. 477
Main Authors Nowicki, Marek J, Chinchilla, Claudia, Corado, Livier, Matsuoka, Lea, Selby, Rick, Steurer, Frank, Mone, Thomas, Mendez, Robert, Aswad, Sali
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 15.02.2006
Subjects
Adult
Animals
Antibodies, Protozoan - blood
California
Chagas Disease - diagnosis
Chagas Disease - epidemiology
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Female
Fluorescent Antibody Technique
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Population
Prevalence
Risk
Seroepidemiologic Studies
Tissue Donors
Trypanosoma cruzi - immunology
California
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Summary:Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite that causes Chagas' disease, is endemic in parts of Mexico, South America, and Central America. Transmission of T. cruzi infection by solid organ transplantation has been reported in Latin America and recently in the United States. To determine the prevalence of T. cruzi antibodies in Southern California organ donors, 404 samples from deceased organ donors between May 2002 to April 2004 were screened using a qualitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EIA) and confirmed with an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) available through the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Six donors were initially reactive by EIA. Three donors were repeatedly reactive after repeat testing and were sent to the CDC for confirmation. One donor (0.25%) had an IFA-confirmed reactivity to anti-T. cruzi antibodies. In areas where there is a high number of immigrants from T. cruzi endemic countries, screening for anti-T. cruzi donor antibodies may be beneficial.
ISSN:0041-1337
DOI:10.1097/01.tp.0000195778.08411.b8