Vertical transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in the Province of Choapa, IV Region, Chile: Preliminary Report (2005-2008)

Abstract

The group of doctors who finished their basic studies in 1962 in the Facultad de Medicina of the Universidad de Chile will never forget the official reception we received when we began the program in March, 1955. It was our first day in the Faculty, and we were received in the Anatomy Auditorium by Dr. Gustavo Hoecker. We soon had him as a professor in the first year Biology course, and in meetings on Saturday afternoons in Borgoño 1470, the site of the former Parasitology Hall of Dr. Amador Neghme. Years later some of us joined forces with Dr. Hoecker in research projects on Chagas disease in which he led the group. We took many field trips to the different endemic areas of the IV Region; Tulahuén, Río Hurtado, El Palqui and Huatulame, among others. We left early in the morning and usually returned late at night. In these interactions I got to know the real Dr. Hoecker; intelligent, lively, discerning and with a great group spirit. When my class of 1962 celebrated our 40 th year as doctors in June, 2002, we did so with a solemn ceremony in the Facultad de Medicina, in the same auditorium where he received us on our first day of classes. In this ceremony we gave recognition to two professors, Gustavo Hoecker and Carlos Oberti (Histology Professor), which faithfully reflected the opinion of his former students. Dr. Hoecker is no longer with us, but his spirit is. In modest homage to him, we dedicate our most recent research on congenital Chagas disease, a subject which united us on more than one occasion.

Transmisión materno-fetal de Trypanosoma cruzi, un problema de salud poco estudiado en México: caso Chiapas

“…[1][2][3] La transmisión congénita de T. cruzi se ha reportado en países como Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile y Paraguay con prevalencias que van de 1 a 62%. [4][5][6][7][8] En México, el primer caso de Chagas congénito se publicó en 1998; en 2006 y 2008 sólo se reportó la seroprevalencia materna a la infección en Chiapas, Veracruz, Yucatán y Guanajuato, sin haberse reportado casos de transmisión congénita. [9][10][11][12] Recientemente, un estudio llevado a cabo en Oaxaca y Jalisco mostró seroprevalencia materna de 4.4 y 12.02%, respectivamente, y cinco casos de transmisión congénita: tres en Oaxaca (9.1%) y dos en Jalisco (3.07%); 13 todos ellos asintomáticos y diagnosticados por serología.…”

Mannose-Binding Lectin and Toll-Like Receptor Polymorphisms and Chagas Disease in Chile

“…8 In the provinces of Choapa and Limarí, northern Chile, CD is highly endemic, and although Chile was declared free of domestic T. cruzi transmission in 1999, vertical transmission and management of chronically infected patients continue. 9 In this area, a cohort of patients has been regularly followed-up since the 1990s. 10 In these patients and healthy individuals, we typed common SNPs that reduce the function of TLRs involved in the recognition of T. cruzi as well as low-producer MBL2 alleles and analyzed associations with CD and CCC.…”

Chagas Disease: A Global Neglected Disease that Require Continuous Medical Education

“…However, it is estimate that in our country there are 145.000 infected people, a figure that could increase is considered family study around index cases [13]. In relation to the education experience in the area of the study, highlights some actions developed in adults with chronic Chagas disease [14] and pregnant women infected with T. cruzi [15].…”