Chagas disease in Ecuador: evidence for disease transmission in an indigenous population in the Amazon region

Two well-defined synthetic peptides TcD and PEP² were used in a sero-epidemiological study for detection of Trypanosoma cruzi infections in an indigenous group in the Amazon region of Ecuador. Of the 18 communities studied along the Rio Napo, province of Napo, 15 (83.3 per cent) were found to be positive for T. cruzi infection. Of the 1,011 individuals examined 61 (6.03 per cent) resulted positive. A prevalence of infection of 4.8 per cent was found in children aged 1-5 years. The prevalence of infection increased with age, with adults 50 years or older showing a maximum prevalence of 18.8 per cent. Autochthonous transmission of T. cruzi is present among this isolated indigenous population.