Seroepidemiology of Chagas disease in at-risk individuals in Caraíbas, a city with high endemicity in Bahia State, Brazil

Front Public Health. 2023 Sep 22:11:1196403. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1196403. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Introduction: In Brazil, an estimated 1.1 million people are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease (CD). Despite the high number of cases, the estimated prevalence of infection per 100 inhabitants is low (0.03). However, the actual number of chronically infected individuals is still unknown. Therefore, we sought to determine the prevalence of chronic CD in at-risk individuals in Caraíbas (Bahia, Brazil) through active case finding.

Methods: A total of 572 individuals living in rural or urban areas of Caraíbas were eligible for the study. A serum sample was collected from 226 individuals, and the diagnosis performed according to international guidelines.

Results: The overall prevalence of anti-T. cruzi IgG was 4.42%. The median age of anti-T. cruzi IgG-positive individuals was 54.5 years, and the female-to-male ratio was 1.5:1. The prevalence of anti-T. cruzi IgG was similar in rural (4.29%) and urban areas (4.65%).

Discussion: Compared with national estimates, we concluded that Caraíbas had a high prevalence for chronic CD and a high risk for persistent transmission. Through our study, it was possible to monitor individuals who were unaware of their clinical condition, thus improving their quality of life.

Keywords: Caraíbas; active case finding; chronic Chagas disease; epidemiological surveillance; prevalence; screening; seroepidemiology; serologic diagnosis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Chagas Disease* / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Male
  • Quality of Life*
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies

Substances

  • Immunoglobulin G

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel in Brazil (CAPES; Finance Code 001 award to TP and FS). FS is a research grantee of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development-Brazil (CNPq; grant number 309263/2020-4). The funders had no influence on the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.