Sensitivity and specificity of Chagas Stat-Pak test in Bolivia.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the results of an immunochromatographic test performed on whole blood, Chagas Stat-Pak, with those of an ELISA test using recombinant antigens.


METHODS
We tested 995 subjects of a rural population of all ages in the south of Bolivia, 459 pregnant women of the same population and 1030 urban women giving birth from the east of Bolivia.


RESULTS
The sensitivity of the CSP test for the entire studied population (n = 2484) was 94.73% [93.35-96.10]; the specificity was 97.33% [96.50-98.15]. However, the specificity differed significantly between rural pregnant and urban birthing women, which could be attributed either to differences of parasite strain or Chagas prevalence.


CONCLUSIONS
The test is simple of use, reliable, relatively inexpensive (<2 US$ each test) and its performances are compatible with a field use for large-scale screenings.
Chippaux
Jean-Philippe
JP
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, La Paz, Bolivia. jean-philippe.chippaux@ird.fr
Santalla
Jose A
JA
Postigo
Jorge R
JR
Romero
Mario
M
Salas Clavijo
Nadin A
NA
Schneider
Dominique
D
Brutus
Laurent
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D001838:Bolivia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic / Q000592:standards*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D055815:Young Adult
D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic