%0 Journal Article
%T Prevalence of transfusion-transmitted Chagas disease among multitransfused patients in Brazil
%A Erich V De Paula
%A Neiva SL Goncales
%A Serge Xueref
%A Marcelo Addas-Carvalho
%A Simone CO Gilli
%A Rodrigo N Angerami
%A Fernando L Goncales
%J BMC Infectious Diseases
%D 2008
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2334-8-5
%X In order to assess the impact of CD control measures on the safety of the blood supply, an observational cross-sectional study was designed to determine the prevalence of CD in 351 highly transfused patients, in which vectorial transmission was excluded. This study compared patients that received transfusion products before (n = 230) and after (n = 121) 1997, when measures to control transfusion-transmitted CD were fully implemented in Brazil.The study group consisted of 351 patients exposed to high numbers of blood products during their lifetime (median number of units transfused = 51, range 10¨C2086). A higher prevalence of transfusion-transmitted CD (1.30%) was observed among multitransfused patients that received their first transfusion before 1997, compared with no cases of transfusion-transmitted CD among multitransfused patients transfused after that year. The magnitude of the exposure to blood products was similar among both groups (mean number of units transfused per year of exposure = 25.00 ¡À 26.46 and 23.99 ¡À 30.58 respectively; P = 0.75, Mann-Whitney test).Multiple initiatives aimed to control vector and parental transmission of CD can significantly decrease transfusion-transmitted CD in Brazil. Our data suggest that mandatory donor screening for CD represents the most important measure to interrupt transmission of CD by blood transfusions.Chagas disease (CD), caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi is considered the most important parasitic disease of the Americas in terms of socioeconomic impact [1]. Despite major improvements in the control of vectorial transmission in endemic areas, CD still infects nearly 10 million people [2], and transfusions have always been an important route of transmission [3]. Furthermore, since most patients with CD are asymptomatic and unaware of their condition, these potential blood donors represent a serious threat to the safety of the blood supply of non-endemic areas [4].Since 1988, in Brazil as in many Latin American
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/8/5