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. 2015 Apr;92(4):807-10.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.14-0562. Epub 2015 Feb 9.

A national survey to determine prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection among pregnant women in Ecuador

Jaime A Costales  1 , Amaya Sánchez-Gómez  1 , Luis C Silva-Aycaguer  1 , William Cevallos  1 , Susana Tamayo  1 , César A Yumiseva  1 , Jerry O Jacobson  1 , Luiggi Martini  1 , Caty A Carrera  1 , Mario J Grijalva  2
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A national survey to determine prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection among pregnant women in Ecuador

Jaime A Costales et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

A nationwide survey was conducted to obtain an estimate of Chagas disease prevalence among pregnant women in Ecuador. As part of a national probability sample, 5,420 women seeking care for delivery or miscarriage at 15 healthcare facilities were recruited into the study. A small minority of participants reported knowing about Chagas disease or recognized the vector. A national seroprevalence of 0.1% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.0-0.2%) was found; cases were concentrated in the coastal region (seroprevalence = 0.2%; 95% CI = 0.0-0.4%). No cases of transmission to neonates were identified in the sample. Seropositive participants were referred to the National Chagas Program for evaluation and treatment. Additional studies are necessary to determine if areas of higher prevalence exist in well-known endemic provinces and guide the development of a national strategy for elimination of mother-to-child transmission of Chagas disease in Ecuador.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Sampling frame and screening results. Sampled provinces are colored according to geographic region (as per the legend). Dots indicate the location of sampled health facilities. A single facility was sampled in each province, except for Guayas (four facilities) and Pichincha (two facilities) provinces in Guayaquil and Quito cities, respectively. The number of seropositive mothers and the sample size for each province are indicated by fractions. Uncolored provinces were not sampled.
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