Chagas Disease Diagnostic Testing in Two Academic Hospitals in New Orleans, Louisiana: A Call to Action

Abstract

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoa parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is an anthropozoonosis that represents a major public health problem in the Americas, affecting 7 million people with at least 65 million at risk. We sought to assess the intensity of disease surveillance based on diagnostic test requests from hospitals in New Orleans, Louisiana. We extracted information from send-out labs at two major tertiary academic hospitals in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, from 1 January 2018 to 1 December 2020. We found that in these three years there were 27 patients for whom Chagas disease testing was ordered. Most of these patients were male (70%), with a median age of 40 years old, and their most common ethnical background was Hispanic (74%). These findings demonstrate undertesting of this neglected disease in our region. Given the low Chagas disease surveillance, we need to increase awareness, health promotion, and education among healthcare workers.