Perspective piece: In search of congenital Chagas disease in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

Chagas disease remains a major impediment to sustainable socioeconomic development in Latin America. Transplacental transmission explains the persistence of transmission in urban areas, in non-endemic regions, and in areas with an established interrupted vectorial transmission. One of every five cases of congenital Chagas disease in the world occurs in Colombia and Venezuela. The massive migration of impoverished populations from neighboring Venezuela has worsened the situation creating a humanitarian crisis in Northeastern Colombia, including the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The prevalence of Chagas infection among pregnant women in these areas is higher than the national average, and the public health resources are insufficient. This perspective discusses the associated increased morbidity and mortality of congenital Chagas in this region, where stigmatization contributes to the impression among health authorities and the general population that it affects indigenous communities only. The monitoring and control of congenital Chagas disease in the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta is a public health necessity that demands urgent and effective interventions. Copyright © 2019 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

• Autores: Parra Henao, Gabriel Jaime; Oliveros Gamez, Horacio Mario; Hotez P.J.; Motoa G.; Franco-Paredes C.; Henao-Martínez A.F.
• Tipo de recurso: Article of journal
• Fecha de publicación: 2019
• Institución: Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia
• Repositorio: Repositorio UCC
• OAI Identifier: oai:repository.ucc.edu.co:20.500.12494/41297
• Acceso en línea: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.19-0110; https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85077319139&doi=10.3390%2fpathogens9010026&partnerID=40&md5=96e7dbf3b7e405ad02e645d1019cb80b; https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12494/41297
• Palabra clave: Article; Colombia; congenital Chagas disease; disease burden; disease carrier; disease transmission; early diagnosis; geographic distribution; health care access; health care planning; health service; human; indigenous people; morbidity; mortality rate; nonhuman; perinatal mortality; placental transfer; point of care testing; polymerase chain reaction; pregnancy outcome; pregnant woman; prevalence; public health; social stigma; treatment planning; Venezuela; vertical transmission; vulnerable population; Chagas disease; Colombia; female; mortality; pregnancy; Trypanosoma cruzi; Chagas Disease; Colombia; Female; Humans; Infectious Disease Transmission; Vertical; Pregnancy; Public Health; Trypanosoma cruzi
• Rights: closedAccess
• License: http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_14cb