Purpose: The state of Puebla has the social marginalization and ecological conditions for the transmission of infectious agents to be effective. Until a few years ago, the state of Puebla was considered non-endemic to the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi as there are no official reports of chronic cases. The objective of this work was to carry out a preliminary study on the prevalence of anti-T. cruzi antibodies in rural areas of the Huatlatlauca municipality in the Mixtec sierra of the state of Puebla.
Methods: A total of 196 serum samples from 12 rural localities were tested by using four tests: two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, an xenodiagnoses and PCR assay.
Results: Overall, 28 (14.2%) of 196 samples were positive for T. cruzi by ≥ 2 tests (95% CI 6.6-20.8%). Our results suggested that the municipality of Huatlatlauca in the Mixteca Sierra of the state of Puebla is an area with endemic potential for the disease with a high prevalence rate in the adult population and with cases in newborns, these high transmission rates are probably associated with problems of congenital and vector transmission.
Conclusion: Additional studies should be conducted to generate adequate campaigns for the control of Chagas disease in this area.
Keywords: Antibodies; Chagas disease; Puebla state; Seroprevalence; Trypanosoma cruzi.