Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2016 November, 240(3)

Chagas Disease in Mexico: Report of 14 Cases of Chagasic Cardiomyopathy in Children

PAZ MARÍA SALAZAR-SCHETTINO,¹ MARGARITA CABRERA-BRAVO,¹ CLARA VAZQUEZ-ANTONA,² EDGAR ZENTENO,¹ MARIANA DE ALBA-ALVARADO,¹ ELIA TORRES GUTIERREZ,¹ YOLANDA GUEVARA GOMEZ,¹ MARÍA GABRIELA PERERA-SALAZAR,³ GUADALUPE GARCIA DE LA TORRE⁴ and MARTHA IRENE BUCIO-TORRES¹

¹Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
²National Institute of Cardiology “Ignacio Chávez”, Mexico City, Mexico
³Investigation Division, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
⁴Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

Chagas disease is a parasitic infection mainly found in Latin America; it is transmitted by a triatomine, also known as assassin bug or kissing bug. In humans, the parasite causes mostly cardiac disorders. Two-thirds of the Mexican territory are regarded as risk areas for vector transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent. The parasite can be found as a blood-borne trypomastigote or as an intracellular amastigote. The progression and severity of lesions could be due to frequent reinfections or to infection by highly virulent strains. A total of 3,327 individuals younger than 18 years old, living in risk areas for this disease in the rural setting of the States of Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, and Veracruz, underwent a seroepidemiological study. Among them, 37 subjects were seropositive for T. cruzi, and were studied to look for signs of cardiac pathology, which has only been reported in adults. A clinical record was prepared for all included individuals, and electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography (ECHO) studies were performed; 25 cases showed lesions compatible with the onset of Chagas cardiomyopathy. The other 12 patients showed either normal ECG and ECHO data or showed abnormal parameters that were not regarded as significant. Lesions found in the onset of Chagas cardiomyopathy in children are herein reported, along with 14 cases of cardiac pathology compatible with Chagas disease. Our results indicate that patients younger than 18 years can show a cardiac pathology similar to that observed in adults.

keywords —— cardiomyopathy; Chagas disease; Mexico; pediatric patients; Trypanosoma cruzi

© 2016 Tohoku University Medical Press

===============================

Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2016, 240, 243-249

Correspondence: Martha Irene Bucio Torres, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Edificio A, 2 piso, Ciudad Universitaria, Circuito Escolar 04510, DF, Mexico.

e-mail: marbu@unam.mx