Seroprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in at-risk blood donors in Catalonia (Spain)

BACKGROUND: The increasing arrival of Latin Americans to Europe and, particularly, to Spain has led to the appearance of new pathologies, such as Chagas disease, a zoonotic infection endemic to rural areas of Central and South America. In the absence of the triatomid vector, one of the main modes of transmission of Chagas disease in nonendemic regions is through blood transfusion. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The Catalonian Blood Bank has implemented a screening program for Chagas disease in at‐risk blood donors and has performed a study to determine the seroprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in the donor population. The two commercial tests used in all samples were the ID‐PaGIA Chagas antibody test (DiaMed) and the bioelisa Chagas assay (Biokit). RESULTS: Overall seroprevalence was 0.62 percent, with 11 donors confirmed positive among the 1770 at‐risk donors studied; the highest rate (10.2%) was in Bolivian donors. Interestingly, 1 of the 11 positive donors was a Spaniard who had resided various years in a Chagas disease endemic area. Furthermore, 1 of the positive donors presented detectable parasitemia. CONCLUSION: The results of this study emphasize the need for T. cruzi screening in at‐risk blood donors in nonendemic countries. An important finding is the relevance of including in the at‐risk category persons who have resided in, but were not necessarily born in, an endemic region. If T. cruzi screening is not routinely performed in all donations, it remains highly dependent on proper identification of at‐risk donors during the predonation interview.