scholarly journals A Case of Vertical Transmission of Chagas Disease Contracted via Blood Transfusion in Canada

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret A Fearon ◽  
Vito Scalia ◽  
Mary Huang ◽  
Irene Dines ◽  
Momar Ndao ◽  
...  

Chagas disease is caused by the protozoan parasiteTrypanosoma cruziand is endemic in many countries in Latin America, where infected bugs of theTriatomineasubfamily carry the parasite in the gut and transmit it to humans through fecal contamination of a bite. However, vertical transmission and transmission through blood transfusion and organ transplantation is well documented. Increasing immigration from endemic countries to North America has prompted blood operators, including Canadian Blood Services and Hema Quebec, to initiate blood donor testing for Chagas antibody. In the present report, an unusual case of vertical transmission from a mother, most likely infected through blood transfusion, and detected as part of a concurrent seroprevalence study in blood donors is described.

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Mongeau-Martin ◽  
Momar Ndao ◽  
Michael Libman ◽  
Gilles Delage ◽  
Brian J Ward

Chagas disease (CD) is a protozoan infection caused byTrypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted by triatomine insect vectors in parts of Latin America. In a nonendemic country, such as Canada, spread can still occur via vertical transmission, and infected blood or organ donations. The Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec have both implemented selective screening of blood donors for CD based on risk factors. In 2011, Héma-Québec identified two seropositive ‘at-risk’ Chilean siblings who had donated blood in Montreal, Quebec. They were referred to the JD MacLean Centre for Tropical Diseases (Montreal, Quebec) for confirmatory testing (T cruziexcreted-secreted antigen ELISA, polymerase chain reaction and/or radioimmunoprecipitation assay) and follow-up. Screening of the rest of the family revealed two other seropositive family members (the mother and sister). While their geographical history in Chile suggests vectorial transmission, this family cluster of CD raises the possibility of vertical transmission. Congenital infection should always be considered among CD-positive mothers and pregnant women. With blood donor screening, Canadian physicians will increasingly see patients with CD and should know how to manage them appropriately. In addition to the case presentation, the authors review the transmission, screening and clinical management of CD in a nonendemic context.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (03) ◽  
pp. 277-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetoslav Nanev Slavov ◽  
Katia Kaori Otaguiri ◽  
Mariana Tomazini Pinto ◽  
Vanderléia Bárbaro Valente ◽  
Eugênia Maria Amorim Ubiali ◽  
...  

Introduction: American tripanosomiasis (Chagas disease), the second most neglected disease in the world, is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Though natural transmission by insect vectors has been controlled, there is significant risk of T. cruzi transmission by blood transfusion in non-endemic regions, generally due to immigration processes from endemic areas. Methodology: The objective of this study was to evaluate anti-T. cruzi seroprevalence in blood donors from the western part of São Paulo State, Brazil, by serologic and immunofluorescence confirmation tests for the period between 2012 and 2014. Currently, this region is regarded as a non-endemic area for Chagas disease. Results: The confirmed overall T. cruzi seroprevalence among blood donors was 0.10%, which can be considered low compared to other Brazilian regions. Nevertheless, the distribution of the anti-T. cruzi antibodies within the examined region was uneven, and some areas of significantly higher prevalence were observed. Conclusions: We could consider two tendencies in the prevalence of T. cruzi: (i) residual older undiagnosed cases from São Paulo State, and (ii) immigration from endemic Brazilian or South American regions. The discordance obtained for T. cruzi prevalence by serologic and immunofluorescence methods demonstrates that more specific routine diagnosis is needed to diminish the cost of the assays and the loss of blood supply once all seropositive blood bags are immediately discarded.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Delmans Flores-Chavez ◽  
Vittorio Sambri ◽  
Volkmar Schottstedt ◽  
Fernando Aparicio Higuera-Escalante ◽  
Dieter Roessler ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTSerology is the preferred method to confirm a Chagas disease diagnosis and to screen blood donors. A battery of assays is often required due to the limited accuracy of single assays. The Elecsys Chagas assay is a newly developed, double-antigen sandwich assay for use on the Elecsys and cobas e immunoassay analyzers, intended to identify individuals infected withTrypanosoma cruzi, for diagnosis and screening. The performance of the Elecsys Chagas assay was evaluated in comparison with those of other widely usedT. cruziantibody assays, at multiple sites (Europe/Latin America). Relative sensitivity and specificity were assessed by using samples from blood donors, pregnant women, and hospitalized patients from regions where Chagas disease is endemic and from regions of nonendemicity. The Elecsys Chagas assay had an overall relative sensitivity of 100% (n= 674). Overall relative specificities were 99.90% (n= 14,681), 100% (n= 313), and 100% (n= 517) for samples from blood donors, pregnant women, and hospitalized patients, respectively. The analytical specificity was 99.83% (n= 594). The Elecsys Chagas assay detectedT. cruziantibodies in two World Health Organization (WHO) standardT. cruzireference panels (panels 09/188 and 09/186) at a 1:512 dilution, corresponding to a cutoff sensitivity of approximately 1 mIU/ml. The Elecsys Chagas assay demonstrated robust performance under routine conditions at multiple sites in Europe and Latin America. In contrast to other available Chagas assays, the Elecsys assay uses a reduced number of recombinantT. cruziantigens, resulting in a significantly smaller number of cross-reactions and improved analytical specificity while being highly sensitive.


2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 461-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia da Silva LOPES ◽  
Eliezer Lucas Pires RAMOS ◽  
César GÓMEZ-HERNÁNDEZ ◽  
Gabriela Lícia Santos FERREIRA ◽  
Karine REZENDE-OLIVEIRA

Despite public health campaigns and epidemiological surveillance activities, Chagas disease remains a major health problem in Latin America. According to data from the World Health Organization, there are approximately 7-8 million people infected with Trypanosoma cruzi worldwide, a large percentage of which in Latin America. This study aims to examine the serological profile of blood donors in blood banks of Hemominas hematology center, in the town of Ituiutaba, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The study sample consisted of 53,941 blood donors, which were grouped according to gender and age. Sample collections were performed from January 1991 to December 2011, and 277 donors (0.5%) were considered serologically ineligible due to Chagas disease. Analysis of data showed no significant difference between genders. As for age, the highest proportion of ineligible donors was from 40 to 49 years (30%), and there was a positive correlation between increasing age and the percentage of patients seropositive for Chagas disease. Therefore, adopting strategies that allow the safe identification of donors with positive serology for Chagas disease is essential to reduce or eliminate indeterminate serological results.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramon G. de Oliveira ◽  
Luiza R. Cruz ◽  
María C. Mollo ◽  
Luiz C. Dias ◽  
Jadel M. Kratz

Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi that endangers almost 70 million people worldwide. The only two drugs that are currently approved for its treatment, benznidazole and nifurtimox, have controversial efficacy in adults and restricting safety issues, leaving thousands of patients without a suitable treatment. The neglect of Chagas disease is further illustrated by the lack of a robust and diverse drug discovery and development portfolio of new chemical entities, and it is of paramount importance to build a strong research and development network for antichagasic drugs. Focusing on drug discovery programs led by scientists based in Latin America, the main endemic region for this disease, we discuss herein what has been published in the last decade in terms of identification of new antiparasitic drugs to treat Chagas disease, shining a spotlight on the origin, chemical diversity, level of characterization of hits, and strategies used for optimization of lead compounds. Finally, we identify strengths and weaknesses in these drug discovery campaigns and highlight the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing.


Author(s):  
Frode Eika Sandnes

AbstractPurpose: Some universal accessibility practitioners have voiced that they experience a mismatch in the research focus and the need for knowledge within specialized problem domains. This study thus set out to identify the balance of research into the main areas of accessibility, the impact of this research, and how the research profile varies over time and across geographical regions. Method: All UAIS papers indexed in Scopus were analysed using bibliometric methods. The WCAG taxonomy of accessibility was used for the analysis, namely perceivable, operable, and understandable. Results: The results confirm the expectation that research into visual impairment has received more attention than papers addressing operable and understandable. Although papers focussing on understandable made up the smallest group, papers in this group attracted more citations. Funded research attracted fewer citations than research without funding. The breakdown of research efforts appears consistent over time and across different geographical regions. Researchers in Europe and North America have been active throughout the last two decades, while Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Middle East became active in during the last five years. There is also seemingly a growing trend of out-of-scope papers. Conclusions: Based on the findings, several recommendations are proposed to the UAIS editorial board.


Author(s):  
Mathis Lohaus ◽  
Wiebke Wemheuer-Vogelaar

Abstract To what extent is International Relations (IR) a globalized discipline? We investigate the geographic diversity of authorship in seventeen IR journals from Africa, East Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the United Kingdom. Biographical records were collected for the authors of 2,362 articles published between 2011 and 2015. To interpret the data, we discuss how publishing patterns are driven by author incentives (supply) in tandem with editorial preferences and strategies (demand). Our main findings are twofold. First, global IR is fragmented and provincial. All journals frequently publish works by authors located in their own region—but the size of these local clusters varies. Geographic diversity is highest in what we identify as the “goldilocks zone” of international publishing: English-language journals that are globally visible but not so competitive that North American authors crowd out other contributions. Second, IR is being globalized through researcher mobility. Many scholars have moved to pursue their doctoral education and then publish as expats, returnees, or part of the diaspora. They are joined by academic tourists publishing in regions to which they have no obvious ties. IR journals thus feature more diverse backgrounds than it may seem at first sight, but many of these authors were educated in North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe.


2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-19
Author(s):  
Robert Lücking

AbstractPeter D. Crittenden served as senior editor of The Lichenologist, the flagship journal in the field of lichenological research, for a period of two decades, between 2000 and 2019. A review of the development of the journal and the publication output during this period is provided. The number of papers published during this period (1197) matches that of all papers published under the three previous senior editors, Peter W. James, David L. Hawksworth and Dennis H. Brown, during a much longer period of 42 years from 1958 to 1999. Peter oversaw important editorial changes to the layout and content of the journal: an increased size with a modern cover design, leaving behind the classic mint-coloured cover of more than 40 years; the addition of ‘thematic issues’ and encouragement of large monographs; implementation of substantial changes to the Code, such as effective electronic publication and obligate registration of new fungal names; and more recently a new policy to reject so-called ‘single naked species descriptions’. Shortly before Peter took over as senior editor, The Lichenologist had received its first impact factor, and Peter managed to continuously increase this measure from around 0.9 to lately up to over 1.5, higher than most other competing journals. The 1197 papers between 2000 and 2019 were published by a total of 1138 different authors, more than half of whom appeared just once as author, whereas a small number participated in numerous (up to 93) papers. There was a continuous increase in the mean number of authors per paper per year, from below 2.5 to around 3.5, the highest numbers ranging between 11 and 30; still, c. 75% of all papers between 2000 and 2019 were single-authored or had up to three authors. Based on affiliations at the time of publication, two thirds of author contributions came from Europe (66%), 13% from North America, 9% from Asia and 7% from Latin America. Likewise, almost half of the study areas were located in Europe and around 10% each in North America, South America and Asia. The countries with the highest number of studies included, in descending order, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden. North America and Europe were over-represented in terms of author contributions, whereas Africa, Latin America, Australia and Oceania were over-represented in terms of study areas. The 1197 papers analyzed encompassed a broad diversity of topics, classified into 32 categories. Taxonomy of lichenized fungi was the most frequent component, representing the focal point in almost half of all studies, followed by phylogeny and evolution, ecology, and the taxonomy of lichenicolous fungi. Around two thirds of the currently accepted genera of lichenized fungi were treated, with a significant correlation between known species richness and the number of papers in which a genus was treated, underlining the taxonomic representativity of papers published in the journal during the past two decades. Examples of genera that were treated more frequently than expected included commonly studied model organisms, such as Lobaria, and those frequently featured in ecological or other non-taxonomic studies, such as Xanthoria. Species-rich tropical genera, particularly in the Graphidaceae, were generally under-represented. Mean number of authors per paper per volume and total number of country origins of authors per volume were the best predictors of impact factor, followed by diversity of study countries per volume, mean number of study countries per paper per volume, mean number of topics per paper per volume, and proportion of studies with phylogenetic components per volume. Individual papers that contributed to high impact factors included broad-scale revisionary treatments and worldwide keys to species-rich taxa, substantial phylogenetic reclassifications of known taxonomic groups, papers dealing with novel methodological approaches of broad interest, and broad-scale studies related to environmental change and lichen biomonitoring.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bader Y Alhatlani ◽  
Waleed A Aljabr ◽  
Mohammed S Almarzouqi ◽  
Sami M Alhatlani ◽  
Rayan N Alzunaydi ◽  
...  

Aim: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) transmission through blood transfusion is a major public health issue worldwide. We aimed to determine the seroprevalence of HEV in blood donors in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. Materials & methods: Serum samples (n = 1078) were collected from volunteer blood donors and tested for the presence of anti-HEV IgG and IgM by indirect ELISA. Results: The seroprevalence of anti-HEV IgG among the blood donors was 5.7% overall. Anti-HEV IgG and IgM seropositivity were significantly higher in non-Saudi donors than in Saudi donors (22.1 vs 3 and 7.8 vs 0.2% for anti-HEV IgG and IgM, respectively). Conclusion: The seroprevalence of HEV among blood donors in the Qassim region was lower than previous estimates for other regions of the country and neighboring countries.


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