ArticleMemorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz2017
Sexual transmission of American trypanosomiasis in humans: a new potential pandemic route for Chagas parasites.
Article in Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Noninvasive Biological Samples to Detect and Diagnose Infections due to Trypanosomatidae Parasites: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Pooled it
- Evidence for Previously Unidentified Sexual Transmission of Protozoan Parasites.Emerging infectious diseases · 2018Pooled it
- Possible role of domestic cats in the epidemiology of leishmaniasis: evidence of genital lesions and vertical transmission.Veterinary research communications · 2025Article
- Is Sexual Transmission of Chagas Disease Possible? Evaluating the Evidence and Future Directions.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The patent landscape of Chagas disease vaccines indicates major underinvestment in an emerging global health threat.Nature biotechnology · 2025Article
- Acute Chagas disease in Amazonia, western Pará: perspectives from medical assistance to genetic elucidation.Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz · 2025Observational
- Exclusion of Horizontal and Vertical Transmission as Major Sources ofComparative medicine · 2023Article
- Trypanosoma cruzi and hematospermia.International urology and nephrology · 2019Article
- In situ hybridization assay for the diagnosis of chagas myocarditis and orchitis in a rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta): A case report.Journal of medical primatology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Trypanosoma cruzi infection endemic in Latin America has now spread to several countries across four continents; this endemic involves triatomine vector-free protists. We hypothesised that the sexual transmission of T. cruzi contributes to the ongoing spread of Chagas disease.
objectivesA short-term longitudinal study was conducted to evaluate this hypothesis.
methodsThe study population comprised 109 subjects from four families, among whom 21 had been diagnosed with acute Chagas disease by direct parasitological analysis. Blood mononuclear cells and serum samples were obtained from each study subject once per year for three consecutive years. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence serological examinations were used to detect specific T. cruzi antibodies. Polymerase chain reaction of T. cruzi DNA revealed 188-nucleotide bands, which hybridised to a specific radiolabelled probe and were confirmed by cloning and sequencing.
resultsThree independent assessments at different time points revealed T. cruzi nuclear DNA footprints in 76% (83/109) of the study population with active infection. In contrast, the ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence assays detected the T. cruzi antibody in 28.4% (31/109) of the study samples. Moreover, the semen from 82.6% (19/23) of subjects people revealed harboured the 188- bp base pair T. cruzi footprint. Interestingly, the ejaculates of nuclear DNA-positive Chagas patient transmitted the T. cruzi upon peritoneal injection or infusion in the vagina of mice, and amastigotes were detected in the skeletal muscle, myocardium, vas deferens, and uterine tube. MAIN
conclusionsT. cruzi infections can be transmitted from females or males to naïve mates through intercourse, and progeny showed discrepancies between the ratios of nuclear DNA footprints and specific antibody that can be explained by the tolerance attained during early embryo growth. Additional studies are needed to develop drugs to eradicate the infections. Additionally, the importance of a vigorous education, information, and communication program to prevent sexually transmitted Chagas disease in humans cannot be underemphasised.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.