Chagas disease in a community in southeast Brazil. I. A serologic follow-up study on a vector controlled area.
The prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection was evaluated in Berilo, Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil, from January to July 1997. A serological survey using the indirect immunofluorescence test (IFT) in dried blood collected on filter-paper was performed in a sample of 2,261 individuals. The overall prevalence rate of T. cruzi infection was 18%, and reached 50% in individuals older than 30 years from rural areas. The percentage of seropositivity was 0.17% among individuals younger than 10 years old, suggesting that vectorial transmission is controlled in the area. A decrease in prevalence rates among people born after 1960 and 1970 was observed and this appears to be correlated with the beginning of control programs. A reduction in T. cruzi infection rates was observed when comparing our results with the rates estimated in a serologic study carried out in Berilo in 1983.
Montoya
Roberto
R
Organización Panamericana de la Salud, Bogotá, DC, Colombia.
Dias
João Carlos Pinto
JC
Coura
José Rodrigues
JR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology; D014505:Urban Population
D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan