TRYPANOSOMIASIS (CHAGAS DISEASE) – USA: (DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) IMMIGRANTS. A ProMED-mail post. http://www.promedmail.org. Date: Wed 17 Jul 2024
Source: MedPage Today [edited] https://www.medpagetoday.com/cardiology/prevention/111126
Researchers from a Washington, DC center confirmed that there was a high prevalence of Chagas disease in a sample of Latin American immigrants hospitalized with cardiac conditions. Of 97 adults who underwent a transthoracic echocardiogram for cardiac symptoms and immigrated from a Chagas disease-endemic country in Latin America, 16 tested positive for _Trypanosoma cruzi_ infection, reported Ajay Kerai, MD, of MedStar Washington Hospital Center, and colleagues. Note: This is not limited to the East Coast at this report mentions “….a prevalence of 19% in people with an LVEF <40% in Los Angeles.” It is not clear how infectious patients with chronic infections are to susceptible triatome vectors which can be found within California. There have been no reports of secondary cases so far.