First description of Trypanosoma cruzi human infection in Esmeraldas province, Ecuador

Parasit Vectors. 2014 Aug 6:7:358. doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-7-358.

Abstract

Chagas disease was described in Ecuador in 1930 in the province of Guayas and thereafter in various provinces. Triatomine were reported in the province of Esmeraldas but no human infection has been described. Here we report the first evidence that the disease does exist in the province of Esmeraldas. In indigenous Awá communities located in the northwest jungle of the Esmeraldas province, 144 individuals were tested using ELISA and PCR for T.cruzi of which 5 (3.47%) were positive. Twenty eight triatomine were collected, 27 were Triatoma dispar and 1 Pastrongylus rufotuberculatus, T.cruzi was detected in 11 (42.3%) of 26 insects.

Publication types

  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Chagas Disease / epidemiology*
  • Chagas Disease / parasitology
  • Ecuador / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Population Groups
  • Triatominae / parasitology
  • Trypanosoma cruzi / isolation & purification*
  • Young Adult