Is Trypanosoma cruzi a New Threat to Our Blood Supply?
Authors: Louis V. Kirchhoff
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1989)

Editorials15 November 1989Is Trypanosoma cruzi a New Threat to Our Blood Supply?Louis V. Kirchhoff, MD, MPHLouis V. Kirchhoff, MD, MPHSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-111-10-773 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptChagas disease (American trypanosomiasis), a zoonosis caused by the protozoan parasite,Trypanosoma cruzi(1-3), is a typical "exotic" disease in that it is a major cause of morbidity and death among the poor in less developed countries but is little known among physicians in the industrialized nations where it rarely occurs. In this issue Grant and colleagues (4) and Nickerson and associates (5) describe two cases of acute Chagas disease that occurred in the United States and Canada as a result of transfusion of blood donated by asymptomatic Latin American immigrants chronically infected withT. cruzi. In view of these...References1. Chagas C. Nova tripanozomiase humana. Estudos sobre a morfologia e o ciclo evolutivo do Schizotrypanum cruzi n. gen., n. sp., agente etiológico de nova entidade mórbida do homem. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 1909;1:159-218. CrossrefGoogle Scholar2. Kirchhoff L. Biology of trypanosomes. American trypanosomiasis (Chagas' disease), In: Mandell GL, Douglas RG Jr, Bennett JE, eds. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, ed 3, New York: John Wiley & Sons; 1990:2077-84. Google Scholar3. Brener Z. Biology of Trypanosoma cruzi. Ann Rev Microbiol. 1973;27:347-82. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. GrantGoldWittner IJM. Transfusion-associated acute Chagas disease acquired in the U.S.A. Ann Intern Med. 1989;111:849-51. LinkGoogle Scholar5. NickersonOrrSchroederSeklaJohnston PPMLJ. Transfusion-associated Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Ann Intern Med. 1989;111:851-3. LinkGoogle Scholar6. Schmũnis G. Chagas' disease and blood transfusion. In: Dodd RY, Barker LF, ed. 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JAMA. 1985;254:3058-60. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13. MarrDocampo JR. Chemotherapy for Chagas' disease: a perspective of current therapy and considerations for future research. Rev Infect Dis. 1986;8:884-903. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14. SchifflerMansurNavin RGT. Indigenous Chagas' disease (American trypanosomiasis) in California. JAMA. 1984;251:2983-4. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar15. KirchhoffGamGilliam LAF. American trypanosomiasis (Chagas' disease) in Central American immigrants. Am J Med. 1987;82:915-20. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar16. KerndtWaskinShulman PHI. Trypanosoma cruzi antibody among blood donors in Los Angeles, California. Transfusion. 1988;28:31S. Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Louis V. Kirchhoff, MD, MPHAffiliations: University of Iowa College of Medicine Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center Iowa City, Iowa Nextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byChagas' Disease (American Trypanosomiasis): a Tropical Disease Now Emerging in the United StatesReferencesChagas Disease Has Now Gone GlobalChagas disease: A Latin American health problem becoming a world health problemGene Network Analysis during Early Infection of Human Coronary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells by Trypanosoma cruzi and Its gp83 LigandThe protozoan parasitesHuman Defensin α-1 Causes Trypanosoma cruzi Membrane Pore Formation and Induces DNA Fragmentation, Which Leads to Trypanosome DestructionThe emergence of Chagas disease in the United States and CanadaRole of Trypanosoma cruzi Autoreactive T Cells in the Generation of Cardiac PathologyNosocomial and Laboratory?Acquired InfectionsTransfusion-transmitted American and African trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease and sleeping sickness): neglected or reality?The Trypanosoma cruzi–host-cell interplay: location, invasion, retentionCombined Use of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay and Flow Cytometry To Detect Antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi in Domestic Canines in TexasIncreased plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in asymptomatic/"indeterminate" and Chagas disease cardiomyopathy patientsPathogenesis of Chagas heart disease: role of autoimmunityThe Protozoan Parasites—Malaria and Chagas' DiseaseHepatosplenomegalieStrategies for prevention of transfusion-associated Chagas' diseaseAllogeneic transfusion risks in the surgical patientChagas' heart diseaseCurrent concepts on the transmission of bacteria and parasites by blood componentsUtility of recombinant flagellar calcium-binding protein for serodiagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi infectionNK and LAK functions in human chronic Chagas diseaseHeart transplants for patients with Chagas' heart diseaseCURRENT CONCEPTS ON TRANSMISSION OF BACTERIA AND PARASITES BY BLOOD COMPONENTSThe United States of AmericaChagas' Disease (American Trypanosomiasis)International migration and control of communicable diseasesAmerican Trypanosomiasis (Chagas' Disease) -- A Tropical Disease Now in the United StatesCase 32-1993N,N′-Thiophene-substituted polyamine analogs inhibit mammalian host cell invasion and intracellular multiplication of Trypahosoma cruziFiltration of shed mediastinal bloodHazards of Bacterial Contamination of Blood ProductsChagas' Disease and Blood Transfusion: A New World Problem?Donor ScreeningChagas' diseaseDoes Changas' disease exist as an undiagnosed form of cardiomyopathy in the United States?PCR amplification of mini-exon genes differentiates Trypanosoma cruzi from Trypanosoma rangeliEvaluation of recombinant trypomastigote surface antigens of Trypanosoma cruzi in screening sera from a population in rural Northeastern Brazil endemic for chagas' diseasePerspectives on Chagas Disease in Latin America and the United StatesParasitic diseases of the heart I: Acute and chronic Chagas' diseaseComplications related to intraoperative blood component therapyNosocomial Transmission and Infection Control Aspects of Parasitic and Ectoparasitic Diseases Part II. Blood and Tissue ParasitesCurrent Risks of Blood TransfusionTransmission of Parasitic and Bacterial Infections Through Blood Transfusion within the USLatin American immigrants—Blood donation and Trypanosoma cruzi transmissionTrypanosoma cruzi-Induced Molecular Mimicry and Chagas’ Disease 15 November 1989Volume 111, Issue 10Page: 773-775KeywordsBloodBlood transfusionChagas diseaseInfectious diseasesMorbidityProtozoansTrypanosoma cruziTrypanosomiasisZoonoses ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 15 November 1989 PDF downloadLoading ...