BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The procedure used for screening Trypanosoma cruzi-infected blood donors by using two serological techniques has frequently led to discordant results. The TESA-blot, a confirmatory test for Chagas' disease, was applied in a survey of inconclusive sera from a Brazilian blood bank. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four hundred and forty-eight sera, obtained from blood donors at the HRU-Fundação Hemominas, were tested by using the TESA-blot assay, a Western blotting method. Of these 448 sera, 348 had previously been determined as inconclusive for Chagas' disease owing to discordance between the indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The TESA-blot was positive for 2.87% (10/348) of the inconclusive sera, and 100% positive and negative for the sera from chagasic (n=50) and non-chagasic (n=50) donors, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results clearly indicate the need to improve the diagnosis of Chagas' disease in blood banks by using new confirmatory diagnostic test(s). The TESA-blot, a new test with trypomastigote fractions of the T. cruzi Y strain, has made new approaches to the confirmation of Chagas' disease possible.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The procedure used for screening Trypanosoma cruzi-infected blood donors by using two serological techniques has frequently led to discordant results. The TESA-blot, a confirmatory test for Chagas' disease, was applied in a survey of inconclusive sera from a Brazilian blood bank. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four hundred and forty-eight sera, obtained from blood donors at the HRU-Fundação Hemominas, were tested by using the TESA-blot assay, a Western blotting method. Of these 448 sera, 348 had previously been determined as inconclusive for Chagas' disease owing to discordance between the indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The TESA-blot was positive for 2.87% (10/348) of the inconclusive sera, and 100% positive and negative for the sera from chagasic (n=50) and non-chagasic (n=50) donors, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results clearly indicate the need to improve the diagnosis of Chagas' disease in blood banks by using new confirmatory diagnostic test(s). The TESA-blot, a new test with trypomastigote fractions of the T. cruzi Y strain, has made new approaches to the confirmation of Chagas' disease possible.
Authors: Andrea Angheben; Lucia Boix; Dora Buonfrate; Federico Gobbi; Zeno Bisoffi; Simonetta Pupella; Giorgio Gandini; Giuseppe Aprili Journal: Blood Transfus Date: 2015-10 Impact factor: 3.443
Authors: P Martín-Dávila; J Fortún; R López-Vélez; F Norman; M Montes de Oca; P Zamarrón; M I González; A Moreno; T Pumarola; G Garrido; A Candela; S Moreno Journal: Clin Microbiol Rev Date: 2008-01 Impact factor: 26.132
Authors: G F Machado-de-Assis; A R Silva; V A L Do Bem; M T Bahia; O A Martins-Filho; J C P Dias; P Albajar-Viñas; R M Torres; M Lana Journal: Clin Vaccine Immunol Date: 2012-06-27
Authors: Milene H de Moraes; Alessandra A Guarneri; Fabiana P Girardi; Juliana B Rodrigues; Iriane Eger; Kevin M Tyler; Mário Steindel; Edmundo C Grisard Journal: Parasit Vectors Date: 2008-07-08 Impact factor: 3.876