Evaluation of a screening method for Chagas disease in San Luis, Argentina

Chagas disease is an endemic public health problem in the Province of San Luis, Argentina. The objective of this work was to evaluate the application of a screening method, focusing on the biochemical processing of capillary samples and diagnostic testing. Material and Methods. In the year 2002, samples of capillary blood were collected from 250 children in their homes; the samples were placed in glycerin buffer and processed by quantitative PHA and ELISA. The results were compared with venous blood samples from the same children, that were analyzed using the same assays, as well as by IFA, the standard method. Results. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 98.03, 92.96, 78.12, and 99.46%, respectively. Conclusions. the serological assays PHA and ELISA conducted simultaneously were sufficiently sensitive and specific, thus validating the screening method. The method was easy to implement, had a low cost, and was well accepted by the selected population. The English version of this paper is available at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html.