Chagas Disease Screening in Maternal Donors of Publicly Banked Umbilical Cord Blood, United States

Abstract

To assess patterns of Chagas disease, we reviewed results of screening umbilical cord blood from a US public cord blood bank during 2007–2014. Nineteen maternal donors tested positive for Trypanosoma cruzi parasites (0.04%). Because perinatal transmission of Chagas disease is associated with substantial illness, targeted prenatal programs should screen for this disease.

Keywords

• Chagas disease
• vertical infection transmission
• umbilical cord blood
• parasitic diseases
• vector-borne infections
• Trypanosoma cruzi