New focus of active transmission of Chagas disease in indigenous populations in the Peruvian Amazon basin

• Autor(a) principal: Cabrera,Rufino
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Outros Autores: Vega,Silvia, Valderrama,Yadira, Cabanillas,Karina, Fernandez,Connie, Rodriguez,Omar, Del Aguila,Cesar, Hernandez,Jesus, Mendoza,Leonardo, Ramon Meza,Juan
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822013000300367
• topic: Chagas disease; Indigenous population; Amazonian ecosystem; Peru

Introduction Several cases of acute Chagas disease (ACD) have been reported in the Peruvian Amazon basin. Methods The objective was to describe and investigate 6 ACD cases in children from indigenous Amazon communities in the province of Datem del Marañón in Loreto department (2006-2010). Results The mean age was 3.6 years. All patients had fever, 4/6 hepatomegaly, 2/6 splenomegaly, and 5/6 had trypomastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi on thick smears. The fatality rate was 33.3%. Rhodnius pictipes and Rhodnius robustus adults were found inside the homes and in the peri-domiciles. Conclusions All cases reported were isolated cases. We report a new focus of ACD in indigenous populations.