Within the framework of the fight against Chagas disease, the Jose C. Bass National University is holding a symposium entitled “Suburban community health: detection of Chagas disease for treatment and prevention”. In classroom 53 on the Aregui campus, Ernesto Matos, director of the Institute for Productive Development and Innovation, presented the debate on the disease caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, which can Serious cardiac and gastrointestinal complications can result. Exhibitors attending the conference included Rocío Rivero, Margarita Bisio, Nora Marciano, Juan Canella, Valeria Ramírez, and various fellowship recipients from the Institute of Research.
Where there’s a need, there’s a college: Suburban Chagas
Since its discovery more than a century ago, Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, has been primarily associated with rural areas, adobe and straw huts in the north of the country. In the 1980s, mainly rural populations lived with this parasite and its vectors. Over time, migration, urbanization, and globalization have produced population movements driven by push factors (poverty and unemployment) and pull factors (better employment conditions and family reunification) that have altered this epidemiology dynamic. Chagas cases are now also occurring in urban areas, and in our country the main mode of transmission is the so-called “vertical”, that is, the transmission of the parasite from mother to child during pregnancy. In fact, several studies have shown that the disease is quietly present in AMBA, with cases not being detected or reported to the National Health Surveillance System (SNVS).
Evidence shows that the treatment administered to newborns is 100% effective in preventing chronic forms of the disease and avoiding future transmission cycles in infected pregnant women. Therefore, National Law No. 26,281, promulgated in 2007 and implemented in 2022, provides for mandatory and free Chagas laboratory testing (blood testing) for pregnant women and newborns. In practice, however, a lack of professional training and the health system’s misconception that the disease is unique to the north of the country limits the law’s effective application. This results in a lack of specific antenatal testing and prevents pregnant women and their children from receiving quality care. Nationally, only 60 percent of women and fewer than 20 percent of live births are diagnosed, according to SNVS.
In this context, an interdisciplinary team of students and researchers from the José C. Paz National University Institute for Productive Development and Innovation (UNPAZ), as well as health professionals, took on the role of addressing the current health situation in the suburbs. Buenos Aires provides data to improve access to healthcare. So a hospital in José C. Paz started work to address concerns about the health of pregnant women. In this region of social inequality, an average of 3,000 pregnant women are registered each year, about half of whom arrive at the time of delivery, without any medical control throughout the pregnancy. This situation raises serious concerns because of the risk of these individuals passing the infection to the newborn during delivery, reducing medical capacity to deal with the situation on site. This finding highlights the lack of access to the care and control that should be undertaken under the guidelines for care during pregnancy related to infections such as HIV, syphilis, hepatitis, etc. that should be established by law, mainly in level one care B and Chagas et al.
In response to this problem, the UNPAZ team, together with researchers from ANLIS, Conicet and local health professionals, initiated specific studies to improve access and adherence to the diagnosis of Chagas disease and other infections. Its focus is to evaluate rapid tests for active screening at the primary care level, particularly in AMBA’s urban centers. The aim is to obtain data on the performance of these tests in order to later expand their use to the entire national territory.
Chagas disease has historically been neglected in our country and around the world, and it is often overlooked in comparison to other public health emergencies, laboratory interests, and the pharmaceutical industry. People affected by the disease face discrimination and stigma, and unfortunately, in many cases, they die without being told they have it. Beyond the diagnosis, the team took a comprehensive approach to continue the investigation. They warn that health is determined by the living conditions of the community, and for this there is a need to walk and listen to the territories, calling for community involvement and design of healthcare. Their exercise aims not only to improve detection of Chagas virus, but also to lay the groundwork for a more inclusive and effective public health approach.