The validation of flow cytometry analysis of anti-live trypomastigote antibodies (FC-ALTA) to monitor cure after treatment of Chagas' disease was evaluated with serum samples from treated and nontreated chagasic patients. After optimization of the original technique, toward better sensitivity and applicability to field surveys, we design a double blind study of 94 coded samples classified into ...

With the purpose of standardization of an hemoculture technique presenting a higher positive rate in the parasitological diagnosis of chronic Chagas' disease in patients with reactive serology (IFT, HA, CFT) the following schedule was used. Thirty ml of venous blood was collected with heparin and the plasma was separated by centrifugation (2.000 rpm/30'). The packed cells were washed with LIT m...

The efficacy of treatment with nifurtimox and/or benznidazole among adults with chronic Chagas disease with no previous electrocardiographic disturbances was evaluated over a mean follow-up of 21 years, by means of conventional serology, xenodiagnosis, clinical examination, electrocardiograms and chest X-ray. One hundred and eleven patients, between 17 and 46 years old, were studied: 54 underwe...

Xenodiagnosis by ticks was used to determine whether spirochetes persist in mice after 1 month of antibiotic therapy for vectorborne Borrelia burgdorferi infection. Immunofluorescence and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to show that spirochetes could be found in Ixodes scapularis ticks feeding on 4 of 10 antibiotic-treated mice up to 3 months after therapy. These spirochetes could not...

A panel of 114 blood samples from chronic chagasic patients and nonchagasic patients was screened for Trypanosoma cruzi by xenodiagnostic, serologic, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification tests. Blood samples were preserved in a guanidine-EDTA buffer, and total blood DNA was isolated after chemical nuclease cleavage with 1,10-phenanthroline-copper ion and used as a template for PCR ...

Trypanosoma cruzi prevalence rates of human, dog and cat populations from 47 households of 3 rural localities of the phytogeographical Chaquena area of Argentina were determined both by serological and xenodiagnostic procedures. Human prevalence rates were uniform and ranged from 49.6 to 58.7%. Overall pre­ valence rate in dogs (75.0%) was significantly higher than in humans (51 .0%) . The over...

We performed a comparatÍve study bebween xenodiagnosis and serological tests for Chagasfdisease. 150 Patients from several endemic areas were studied. Four of them appeared to have a peculiar status with positive xenodiagnosis and negative serclogy carr'ied out with four classical techniques (Immunofluorescence test, ELrsA: Enzyme Linked rmmunosorbent Assay, complement fixation test and Imrnuno...

In order to identify Trypanosoma cruzi reservoirs in transmission areas, 60 mammals in Capital and San Luis del Palmar Departments, Corrientes, Argentina were studied. Primates, rodents, carnivores, marsupials and edentates were investigated, 40 of them living in captivity and 20 caught with traps in a rural area. The mammals were examined by xenodiagnosis and third or fourth instars nymphs of ...

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a serious public health problem in Brazil and worldwide. Despite the euthanasia of dogs serologically positive, such action has not solved the endemic in Brazil. A risk area for VL involves the presence of the vector, the occurrence of canines and the record of human cases. The factors that have favored the persistence and spread of VL in Brazil are related to the...