Chagas' disease among school students from Chiapas, Mexico: Two cases of Chagasic cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Chagas disease is a vector-borne life-threatening illness originally confined to the Americas. Seroprevalence studies have been reported in the Mexican state of Chiapas; nevertheless, no clinical/cardiological studies have been conducted to detect underage cases. The aim of the present work was to detect underage cases in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

METHODS: A serological screening by ELISA was conducted on 1556 blood samples from school pupils; seropositiv- ity was confirmed by indirect ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence. Seropositive cases were clinically assessed in a hospital, and electrocardiographic and echocardiographic studies were performed. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis.

RESULTS: Seropositivity was confirmed in three cases in the population under study (0.19%). Cardiological studies confirmed the presence of alterations associated to Chagasic cardiomyopathy in two of the three patients.

INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The conditions for an active transmission of T. cruzi infection are met in the rural localities under study. Additionally, the presence of Chagasic cardiomyopathy in underage patients highlights the relevance of an early detection of cases to provide specific treatment at the onset of the infection and to implement epidemiological surveillance as suggested by PAHO/WHO.