Prevalence of Chagas disease in the Bolivian population of Majorca (Spain)

Pedro Favila Escobio, Joana Ribas, Marta G. Morillo, Ginna Rodríguez-Ramírez, Jeronima Vicens-Ferrer, Magdalena Esteva

To establish the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in Bolivian (Spain) participants. A cross sectional study was carried out in Majorca. Bolivian residents older than 18 years assigned to the family physicians of two primary care centers were randomly selected from the health card population database. Participants were invited to attend a serology test and an interview. T. cruzi infection was confirmed after two positive ELISA tests. If the result was positive or dubious, the serological test was sent to the National Microbiology Center for confirmation. A total of 251 participants were included (response rate 36.3%). The overall seroprevalence of Chagas infection was 19.1% (95% CI: 14.06-24.19). Seroprevalence was higher in participants from highly endemic provinces, those from rural areas, those who had lived in mud houses, and in those whose mother or a family member had contracted this infection. This study demonstrates a high prevalence of T. cruzi in Bolivian residents, which was strongly associated with established risk factors.