Surveillance of Chagas disease among at-risk blood donors in Italy: preliminary results from Umberto I Polyclinic in Rome.

Background. Chagas disease is a parasitic disease due to Typanosoma cruzi, endemic in Central and Southern America, where the protozoon infects about 8-10 million people. In rural areas the infection is acquired mostly through reduviidae insect vectors, whereas in urban ones it is acquired mainly through the transfusion of blood products, vertical transmission and organ transplantation. The important migratory flows of the last decades have focused attention on possible T cruzi transmission by transfusion also in non-endemic countries, and platelets have been recognised as the main origin of infection for recipients from serologically-positive Latino-American donors. Materials and methods. In order to avoid the occurrence of transfusion-related cases, in 2010 systematic screening for anti-T cruzi antibodies was started at the Umberto I Polyclinic in Rome, controlling blood donors born and/or coming from Latin-American countries in which the disease is endemic. The aim of this paper is to report the preliminary results achieved since the introduction of this screening. Results. Anti-T cruzi antibodies have been detected to date in 3.9% out of the 128 people examined. A seropositive subject also proved positive by polymerase chain reaction analysis and showed very light parasitaemia. Discussion. The preliminary results are quite alarming. Indeed, serological findings exceed those reported in other non-endemic countries, and Italian travellers proved to be an insidious possible source of direct transmission. The need for systematic screening of at-risk blood donors also in non-endemic countries is emphasised.