1. Seroepidemiology of Trypanosoma cruzi, etiologic agent of Chagas' disease, in US blood donors.
- Author
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Leiby DA, Read EJ, Lenes BA, Yund AJ, Stumpf RJ, Kirchhoff LV, and Dodd RY
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Animals, Antibodies, Protozoan analysis, Blood Donors, Case-Control Studies, Chagas Disease immunology, Chagas Disease transmission, Female, Florida epidemiology, Humans, Los Angeles epidemiology, Male, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Red Cross, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors, Seroepidemiologic Studies, Chagas Disease epidemiology, Trypanosoma cruzi immunology
- Abstract
A comprehensive seroepidemiologic study was conducted in two Red Cross regions (Los Angeles and Miami) to determine the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies in at-risk blood donors, to identify additional risk factors, and to assess the likelihood of transmitting T. cruzi by transfusion. At-risk and control donors were stratified by a broad risk question, tested for T. cruzi antibodies, and if confirmed as seropositive, enrolled in case-control and lookback investigations. A total of 299,398 donors were queried; 23,978 at-risk and 25,587 control donations were tested, and T. cruzi antibodies were confirmed in 34 donors (33 and 1, respectively). Seropositive donors shared one risk factor; birth/extensive time in a T. cruzi-endemic area. Lookback studies identified 11 recipients, all negative for T. cruzi antibodies. Screening strategies that use a question are unlikely to identify all seropositive donors. The lack of definitive data on the risk of transmission by transfusion indicates additional studies of donors and recipients are needed.
- Published
- 1997
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