Trypanosoma Cruzi In Pregnant Women

The Importance of Early Detection and Treatment of Trypanosoma cruzi in Pregnant Women
Kelly Petersen
Abstract
Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) is a parasite that is transmitted to humans by the reduviid bug and causes Chagas’ disease. There are many ways a person can become infected, but the most common ways are a bite or rubbing the bugs’ feces into the eye, mouth, or open wound. This can cause either an acute or chronic phase infection. An acute infection causes more of an eye infection in children, but the chronic phase infection can be life threatening to adults. In the past diagnosis of Chagas’ disease took a long time and was not very accurate. Fortunately, today new techniques are available to detect an infection sooner. Polymerase chain …show more content…
cruzi) was first discovered and studied over a century ago, but unfortunately still infects around 8 million people in Central and South America today. T. cruzi is transmitted to humans in a number of different ways, including a bite from a reduviid bug or rubbing the bugs’ feces into the eyes, mouth, or open wound. In addition to this, one can also become infected by blood transfusions or transplacental transmission from mother to fetus (Schijman et al. 2011). An infection of T. cruzi is commonly known as Chagas’ disease, which has an acute and chronic phase; the acute phase is commonly seen in children and causes more of an eye infection, while the chronic phase is seen in adults and can be life threatening. Chagas’ disease in the chronic phase can cause nerve dysfunction and 70% of the cases lead to cardiac death. T. cruzi can also cross the placenta, and has been hypothesized to be able to pass from mother to infant through breast milk. An issue with T. cruzi is that many times a treatment option will only kill extracellular protozoa, so the intracellular reproductive cells withstand the treatment, which makes it very hard to treat a chronic infection. Although, nifurtimox and benznidazole have been effective in treating acute phases of Chagas’, while ketoconazole seems to handle the chronic phase well (Roberts, et al. …show more content…
cruzi out of the population. Since there is such a high level of disease due to congenital infection, early detection could be a way to decrease the number of people infected. In order to detect a T. cruzi infection early, extra attention must be given to the mother, parasitological tests must be fast and efficient, and health workers must be educated on procedures that need to be followed when handling a woman who is infected with T. cruzi (Carlier, et al. 2015). Women that are infected with T. cruzi and become pregnant need to be educated as well on what to do to so the infection in not spread. In order to get an accurate and efficient diagnosis of the mother, a PCR test is a safe and effective way to get results. Studies show that the prevalence of T. cruzi increases, as the mother gets closer to her last trimester. In order to keep the mother and child safe, serological tests need to be run on a regular basis to determine the treatment options (Brutus, et al. 2010). In addition to early detection, an effective treatment plan is also crucial, not only for the child, but also for the mother. As previously stated, nifurtimox and benznidazole both seem to be effective in treating a T. cruzi infection. Although an effective drug, benznidazole does have a few drawbacks, one being its toxicity (Assiria, et al. 2015). Even with mild toxicity, the benefits of benznidazole

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