Autochthonous Transmission of Trypanosoma Cruzi in Southern California

Salvador Hernandez; Carmen A Flores; Gracia M Viana; Daniel R Sanchez; Mahmoud I Traina; Sheba K Meymandi

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofw227

Autochthonous Transmission of Trypanosoma Cruzi in Southern California

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2016 Dec 20;3(4):ofw227. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofw227. eCollection 2016 Oct.

Authors

Salvador Hernandez¹, Carmen A Flores¹, Gracia M Viana¹, Daniel R Sanchez¹, Mahmoud I Traina¹, Sheba K Meymandi¹

Affiliation

¹ Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center , Sylmar, California.

Abstract

Trypanosoma cruzi usually infects humans via triatomine insects in Latin America. Vector-borne transmission in the United States is exceedingly rare. We describe (1) the first case of probable autochthonous transmission reported in California in more than 30 years and (2) the first ever reported case in the greater Los Angeles area.

Keywords: California; Trypanosoma cruzi; autochthonous; chagas disease; transmission.