1. Assessment of Community Awareness and Screening of Chagas Disease in the Latin American Community of Greater New Orleans
- Author
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Claudia Herrera, Kerlly J. Bernabé, Eric Dumonteil, James DeCuir, Julie M. Thompson, Mariana Avendano, Weihong Tu, Maxwell M. Leonhardt, Bianka A. Northland, Jynx Frederick, Bryn Prieto, Angel Paternina-Caicedo, Emma Ortega, Maria Fonseca, Marcela Hincapie, and Margarita Echeverri
- Subjects
Trypanosoma cruzi ,diagnostic ,surveillance ,screening ,Chagas disease barriers ,Latin American community ,Medicine - Abstract
Chagas disease is a public health problem in the Americas, from the southern United States (USA) to Argentina. In the USA, less than 1% of domestic cases have been identified and less than 0.3% of total cases have received treatment. Little is known about affected immigrant Latin American communities. A prospective study was conducted to assess knowledge about Chagas disease among the Latin American community living in the Greater New Orleans area. Participants answered a baseline questionnaire, viewed a short educational video presentation, completed a post-presentation questionnaire, and were screened with an FDA-approved blood rapid diagnostic test (RDT). A total of 154 participants from 18 Latin American countries (n = 138) and the USA (n = 16) were enrolled and screened for Trypanosoma cruzi infection. At baseline, 57% of the participants knew that Chagas disease is transmitted through an insect vector, and 26% recognized images of the vector. Following the administration of an educational intervention, the participants’ knowledge regarding vector transmission increased to 91% and 35% of participants were able to successfully identify images of the vector. Five participants screened positive for T. cruzi infection, indicating a 3.24% [95%CI: 1.1–7.5%] prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection within the Latin American community of the New Orleans area. Results highlight the urgent need for improving access to education and diagnostics of Chagas disease.
- Published
- 2023
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