Diagnostic performance of tests based on Trypanosoma cruzi excreted-secreted antigens in an endemic area for Chagas' disease in Bolivia.

The diagnostic performance of Trypanosoma cruzi excreted-secreted antigen (TESA)-based and conventional tests for Chagas' disease was evaluated in a field study with 742 sera from a population in an endemic area in the Department of Chuquisaca, Bolivia. Of the 742 samples, 329 (44.34 %) were positive in the TESA blot assay, which diagnosed 9 Trypanosoma cruzi-infected individuals missed by conventional serologic tests.