Urban transmission of Chagas disease in Cochabamba, Bolivia
Chagas disease is a major public health problem in Bolivia. In the city of Cochabamba, 58% of the population lives in peripheral urban districts ("popular zones") where the infection prevalence is extremely high. From 1995 to 1999, we studied the demographics of Chagas infections in childr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ)
2008-08-01
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| Series: | Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762008000500003 |
| _version_ | 1797713292773294080 |
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| author | N Medrano-Mercado R Ugarte-Fernandez V Butrón S Uber-Busek HL Guerra Tania C de Araújo-Jorge R Correa-Oliveira |
| author_facet | N Medrano-Mercado R Ugarte-Fernandez V Butrón S Uber-Busek HL Guerra Tania C de Araújo-Jorge R Correa-Oliveira |
| author_sort | N Medrano-Mercado |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Chagas disease is a major public health problem in Bolivia. In the city of Cochabamba, 58% of the population lives in peripheral urban districts ("popular zones") where the infection prevalence is extremely high. From 1995 to 1999, we studied the demographics of Chagas infections in children from five to 13 years old (n = 2218) from the South zone (SZ) and North zone (NZ) districts, which differ in social, environmental, and agricultural conditions. Information gathered from these districts demonstrates qualitative and quantitative evidence for the active transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in urban Cochabamba. Seropositivity was high in both zones (25% in SZ and 19% in NZ). We observed a high risk of infection in children from five to nine years old in SZ, but in NZ, a higher risk occurred in children aged 10-13, with odds ratio for infection three times higher in NZ than in SZ. This difference was not due to triatomine density, since more than 1,000 Triatoma infestans were captured in both zones, but was possibly secondary to the vector infection rate (79% in SZ and 37% in NZ). Electrocardiogram abnormalities were found to be prevalent in children and pre-adolescents (SZ = 40%, NZ = 17%), indicating that under continuous exposure to infection and re-infection, a severe form of the disease may develop early in life. This work demonstrates that T. cruzi infection should also be considered an urban health problem and is not restricted to the rural areas and small villages of Bolivia. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T07:34:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8dfeaf5a3fa946e49fa5994990208579 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0074-0276 1678-8060 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T07:34:17Z |
| publishDate | 2008-08-01 |
| publisher | Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz |
| spelling | doaj.art-8dfeaf5a3fa946e49fa59949902085792023-09-02T21:33:28ZengFundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ)Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz0074-02761678-80602008-08-01103542343010.1590/S0074-02762008000500003Urban transmission of Chagas disease in Cochabamba, BoliviaN Medrano-MercadoR Ugarte-FernandezV ButrónS Uber-BusekHL GuerraTania C de Araújo-JorgeR Correa-OliveiraChagas disease is a major public health problem in Bolivia. In the city of Cochabamba, 58% of the population lives in peripheral urban districts ("popular zones") where the infection prevalence is extremely high. From 1995 to 1999, we studied the demographics of Chagas infections in children from five to 13 years old (n = 2218) from the South zone (SZ) and North zone (NZ) districts, which differ in social, environmental, and agricultural conditions. Information gathered from these districts demonstrates qualitative and quantitative evidence for the active transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in urban Cochabamba. Seropositivity was high in both zones (25% in SZ and 19% in NZ). We observed a high risk of infection in children from five to nine years old in SZ, but in NZ, a higher risk occurred in children aged 10-13, with odds ratio for infection three times higher in NZ than in SZ. This difference was not due to triatomine density, since more than 1,000 Triatoma infestans were captured in both zones, but was possibly secondary to the vector infection rate (79% in SZ and 37% in NZ). Electrocardiogram abnormalities were found to be prevalent in children and pre-adolescents (SZ = 40%, NZ = 17%), indicating that under continuous exposure to infection and re-infection, a severe form of the disease may develop early in life. This work demonstrates that T. cruzi infection should also be considered an urban health problem and is not restricted to the rural areas and small villages of Bolivia.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762008000500003Chagas Diseaseacute phaserisk factorschildrenBoliviaEKG abnormalities |
| spellingShingle | N Medrano-Mercado R Ugarte-Fernandez V Butrón S Uber-Busek HL Guerra Tania C de Araújo-Jorge R Correa-Oliveira Urban transmission of Chagas disease in Cochabamba, Bolivia Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Chagas Disease acute phase risk factors children Bolivia EKG abnormalities |
| title | Urban transmission of Chagas disease in Cochabamba, Bolivia |
| title_full | Urban transmission of Chagas disease in Cochabamba, Bolivia |
| title_fullStr | Urban transmission of Chagas disease in Cochabamba, Bolivia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urban transmission of Chagas disease in Cochabamba, Bolivia |
| title_short | Urban transmission of Chagas disease in Cochabamba, Bolivia |
| title_sort | urban transmission of chagas disease in cochabamba bolivia |
| topic | Chagas Disease acute phase risk factors children Bolivia EKG abnormalities |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762008000500003 |
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