Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Sexual Transmission of American Trypanosomes from Males and Females to Naive Mates
13:55

Sexual Transmission of American Trypanosomes from Males and Females to Naive Mates

Published on: January 27, 2019

15.1K

Retrospect, advances and challenges in Chagas disease diagnosis: a comprehensive review

Alejandro Gabriel Schijman1, Julio Alonso-Padilla2,3, Constança Britto4

  • 1Laboratorio de Biología Molecular de la Enfermedad de Chagas, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr Héctor Torres", INGEBI- CONICET, Vuelta de Obligado 2490, Buenos Aires, 1428 ADN, Argentina.

Lancet Regional Health. Americas
|July 15, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Timely diagnosis of Chagas disease is crucial for treatment access and elimination goals. Innovative point-of-care tests are needed to overcome limitations of current multi-test algorithms, especially in resource-limited settings.

Area of Science:

  • Neglected tropical diseases
  • Infectious disease diagnostics
  • Public health

Background:

  • Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, impacts millions globally.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) aims for its elimination by 2030, highlighting diagnostic needs.
  • Current diagnostic algorithms are time-consuming, posing challenges in resource-limited areas.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review historical context and recent advancements in Chagas disease diagnostics.
  • To identify challenges and future directions for improving diagnostic accessibility.
  • To emphasize the need for innovative tools to meet elimination goals.

Main Methods:

  • Review of parasitological, molecular, and serological diagnostic methods.
  • Analysis of diagnostic performance, sensitivity, and specificity.
  • Exploration of point-of-care testing strategies.

Main Results:

  • Parasitological methods lack sensitivity; molecular methods offer quantification and throughput.
  • Serological tools face challenges with parasite antigenic diversity.
  • Point-of-care tests are critical for accessibility and disease control.

Conclusions:

  • Despite progress, challenges in Chagas disease diagnosis persist.
  • Innovative diagnostic strategies, particularly point-of-care tests, are essential for widespread accessibility.
  • Balancing achievements and obstacles is key to comprehensive progress in controlling Chagas disease.

Keywords:
Chagas diseaseDiagnosisIsothermal amplificationPoint-of-careRapid diagnostic testsSurveillance

More Related Videos

Ready-To-Use qPCR for Detection of DNA from Trypanosoma cruzi or Other Pathogenic Organisms05:50

Ready-To-Use qPCR for Detection of DNA from Trypanosoma cruzi or Other Pathogenic Organisms

Published on: January 20, 2022

1.5K
Author Spotlight: Real-Time Monitoring of Parasite Burden and Host Response07:59

Author Spotlight: Real-Time Monitoring of Parasite Burden and Host Response

Published on: May 31, 2024

1.4K

Related Concept Videos

Toxoplasmosis01:28

Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...
American Trypanosomiasis01:22

American Trypanosomiasis

Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a vector-borne parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a flagellated protozoan (kinetoplastid) of the family Trypanosomatidae. The disease is endemic in Latin America, although cases are increasingly reported worldwide due to human migration. Transmission most commonly occurs when feces of infected triatomine bugs contaminate bite wounds or mucosal surfaces; additional routes include congenital, transfusional, transplant-related, and oral...
Antiprotozoal Agents01:21

Antiprotozoal Agents

Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by several Leishmania species. It affects millions of people each year and remains a major public health problem in endemic regions. First-line treatment relies on pentavalent antimonials, including meglumine antimoniate and sodium stibogluconate. Even so, how these drugs work has not been fully clear, especially their interaction with parasite-specific biochemical pathways. One key target is trypanothione reductase (TR), an enzyme that...