title: Urban Chagas disease in children and women in primary care centres in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
abstract: The primary objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of this disease in women of childbearing age and children treated at health centres in underserviced areas of the city of Buenos Aires. Demographic and Chagas disease status data were collected. Samples for Chagas disease serology were obtained on filter paper and the reactive results were confirmed with conventional samples. A total of 1,786 subjects were screened and 73 positive screening results were obtained: 17 were from children and 56 were from women. The Trypanosoma cruzi infection risk was greater in those individuals who had relatives with Chagas disease, who remember seeing kissing bugs, who were of Bolivian nationality or were born in the Argentine province of Santiago del Estero. The overall prevalence of Chagas disease was 4.08%. Due to migration, Chagas disease is currently predominantly urban. The observed prevalence requires health programme activities that are aimed at urban children and their mothers. Most children were infected congenitally, which reinforces the need for Chagas disease screening of all pregnant women and their babies in Argentina. The active search for new cases is important because the appropriate treatment in children has a high cure rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Chagas, Ricardo Gutiérrez Children's Hospital, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moscatelli
authors.affiliation: Community Action Centre 15, Primary Care Centre, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Ada
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berenstein
authors.affiliation: Community Action Centre 11, Primary Care Centre, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tarlovsky
authors.affiliation: Community Action Centre 15, Primary Care Centre, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siniawski
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Chagas, Ricardo Gutiérrez Children's Hospital, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biancardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Chagas, Ricardo Gutiérrez Children's Hospital, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Griselda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ballering
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Chagas, Ricardo Gutiérrez Children's Hospital, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Samanta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moroni
authors.affiliation: Centre of Studies on Human Science and Health, Interamerican Open University, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwarcz
authors.affiliation: Centre of Studies on Human Science and Health, Interamerican Open University, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Chagas, Ricardo Gutiérrez Children's Hospital, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Facundo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: García-Bournissen
authors.affiliation: Centre of Studies on Human Science and Health, Interamerican Open University, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Andrés Espejo
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Cozzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Chagas, Ricardo Gutiérrez Children's Hospital, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Héctor
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Freilij
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Chagas, Ricardo Gutiérrez Children's Hospital, Buenos Aires, AR.
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Altcheh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult