TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kann, Simone
A1  - Kunz, Meik
A1  - Hansen, Jessica
A1  - Sievertsen, Jürgen
A1  - Crespo, Jose J.
A1  - Loperena, Aristides
A1  - Arriens, Sandra
A1  - Dandekar, Thomas
T1  - Chagas disease: detection of Trypanosoma cruzi by a new, high-specific real time PCR
JF  - Journal of Clinical Medicine
N2  - Background: Chagas disease (CD) is a major burden in Latin America, expanding also to non-endemic countries. A gold standard to detect the CD causing pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi is currently not available. Existing real time polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCRs) lack sensitivity and/or specificity. We present a new, highly specific RT-PCR for the diagnosis and monitoring of CD. Material and Methods: We analyzed 352 serum samples from Indigenous people living in high endemic CD areas of Colombia using three leading RT-PCRs (k-DNA-, TCZ-, 18S rRNA-PCR), the newly developed one (NDO-PCR), a Rapid Test/enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA), and immunofluorescence. Eighty-seven PCR-products were verified by sequence analysis after plasmid vector preparation. Results: The NDO-PCR showed the highest sensitivity (92.3%), specificity (100%), and accuracy (94.3%) for T. cruzi detection in the 87 sequenced samples. Sensitivities and specificities of the kDNA-PCR were 89.2%/22.7%, 20.5%/100% for TCZ-PCR, and 1.5%/100% for the 18S rRNA-PCR. The kDNA-PCR revealed a 77.3% false positive rate, mostly due to cross-reactions with T. rangeli (NDO-PCR 0%). TCZ- and 18S rRNA-PCR showed a false negative rate of 79.5% and 98.5% (NDO-PCR 7.7%), respectively. Conclusions: The NDO-PCR demonstrated the highest specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy compared to leading PCRs. Together with serologic tests, it can be considered as a reliable tool for CD detection and can improve CD management significantly.
KW  - Chagas disease
KW  - Chagas diagnosis
KW  - Chagas monitoring
KW  - Chagas real time PCR
KW  - Trypanosoma cruzi
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-205746
SN  - 2077-0383
VL  - 9
IS  - 5
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bauer, Hannah
A1  - Concha Mendoza, Gustavo Andrés
A1  - Kreienbrock, Lothar
A1  - Hartmann, Maria
A1  - Frickmann, Hagen
A1  - Kann, Simone
T1  - Prevalence of common diseases in Indigenous people in Colombia
JF  - Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
N2  - The Indigenous tribe called the Wiwa lives retracted in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Little is known about their health status and whether the health care system in place covers their needs. In 2017 and 2018, a permanent physician was in charge for the Wiwa. Diseases and complaints were registered, ranked, and classified with the ICD-10 coding. Datasets from the Indigenous health care provider Dusakawi, collected from local health points and health brigades travelling sporadically into the fields for short visits, were compared. Furthermore, a list of provided medication was evaluated regarding the recorded needs. The most common complaints found were respiratory, infectious and parasitic, and digestive diseases. The top ten diagnoses collected in the health points and in the health brigade datasets were similar, although with a different ranking. The available medication showed a basic coverage only, with a critical lack of treatment for many severe, chronic, and life-threatening diseases. Most of the detected diseases in the Indigenous population are avoidable by an improvement in health care access, an expansion of the provided medication, and an increase in knowledge, hygiene, and life standards.
KW  - Chagas disease
KW  - indigenous
KW  - public health
KW  - Colombia
KW  - Sierra Nevada
KW  - neglected groups
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-278953
SN  - 2414-6366
VL  - 7
IS  - 6
ER  -