ABSTRACT
A field study of the immune response to the shed acute phase antigen (SAPA) of Trypanosoma cruzi was carried out in the locality of Mizque, Cochabamba department, Bolivia. Schoolchildren (266), with an average of 8.6ñ3.6 years, were surveyed for parasitological and serological diagnosis, as well as antibodies directed against SAPA using the corresponding recombinant protein in ELISA. The antibodies against SAPA were shown in 82 per cent of patients presenting positive serological diagnosis (IgG specific antibodies). The positive and negative predictive values were 0.88. Antibodies anti-SAPA were shown in 80.8 per cent of the chagasic patients in the initial stage of the infection (positive IgM serology and/or positive buffy coat (BC) test) and in 81.4 per cent of the patients in the indeterminate stage of the infection (positive IgG serology with negative BC and IgM tests). These results show that the anti-SAPA response is not only present during the initial stage of the infection (few months) but extends some years after infection.