Chagasic meningoencephalitis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: diagnosis, follow-up, and genetic characterization of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Early diagnosis of the clinical reactivation of Chagas' disease in human immunodeficiency virus- and Trypanosoma cruzi-coinfected persons is fundamental for a good prognosis. Polymerase chain reaction rapidly and efficiently demonstrated the presence and elimination of T. cruzi in the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient with chagasic meningoencephalitis. Characterization of T. cruzi, directly and indirectly in blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples, demonstrated homogeneity of kinetoplast DNA and the presence of lineage 1 (T. cruzi II) in both parasite populations.