First report of family clusters of Chagas disease seropositive blood donors in Mexico City and their epidemiological relevance.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Chagas disease is an important health problem in Latin America. Relatives of T. cruzi seropositive donors could also test positive in serological assays. Therefore, the study of Chagas diseases in family clusters has become important to accurately evaluate the problem that this infectious disease represents. OBJECTIVE: to investigate family cluster from blood donors, their serological, clinical and epidemiological status. METHODS: 53 family clusters consisting of index case and a variable number of relatives were studied. All the participants had ELISA and Western blot assays, as well as, clinical tests including an electrocardiogram and chest x ray. RESULTS: We found that 24.52% of the family clusters had at least one T. cruzi seropositive family member, in addition to the blood donor. Importantly, 20.75% of the index cases and 5.0% of the relatives presented pathological manifestations associated to Chagas disease. Several epidemiological conditions are associated to being T. cruzi seropositive. CONCLUSION: blood donor's family clusters have several seropositive to T. cruzi members. Mother-child pairs were also seropositive, suggesting vertical transmition. Pathological symptom associated to Chagas Diseases were present in index cases and family member. These results highlight the importance of studying family clusters to clarify the true magnitude of Chagas disease in Mexico.