They Approve Innovative Test to Diagnose Chagas in Babies

An innovative test that combines a DNA extraction system built on a modified 3D printer (PrintrLab) with loop-mediated isothermal molecular amplification (LAMP) can be used to detect T. cruzi infection, responsible for Chagas disease, in newborns. This is the conclusion of a proof-of-concept study conducted in the Bolivian Chaco, an endemic region for Chagas disease.

Studying, published in the journal “Lancet Microbe”coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the la Caixa Foundation.

He 20% of new cases of Chagas disease are due to vertical (or congenital) transmission.. That is, when an infected mother transmits the parasite to her baby during pregnancy. Therefore, early detection of the parasite in women and newborns is a public health priority.

He The problem is the lack of simple, fast and reliable tests.. In high-income countries such as Spain, neonatal diagnosis can be done using PCR, but this is an expensive method that requires trained personnel. In endemic areas, up to two microscopic examinations are performed (at birth and at two months of age), which, due to their low sensitivity, must be followed a few months later by serological testing to detect antibodies against the parasite. The multiple tests and the time that elapses between them increase the risk that children will not receive the treatment they need.

“In endemic areas, it would be very useful to have a simple, rapid and sensitive test to detect the parasite in a newborn when treatment works best,” he explains. Julio Alonso Padilla, ISGlobal researcher

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The study included 224 children from mothers with T. Cruzi, who were followed for 8 months.

In this work, Alonso-Padilla’s team evaluated an innovative diagnostic test that combines a simple molecular amplification method (LAMP) developed by the Japanese company Eiken with a 3D printer modified to extract DNA from a small blood sample (PrintrLab). The results were compared with the results of PCR and standard diagnostic methods. (microscopy and serology).

The study included 224 neonates born to T. cruzi seropositive mothers and followed them for eight months. A total of 23 cases of congenital transmission were detected (nine neonates detected by microscopy and 14 by serology at eight months). LAMP was able to detect 13 of 23 cases at baseline (i.e., four additional cases to those detected by microscopy), and PCR detected 14 of 23 (five additional cases).

“This shows that the sensitivity of PrintrLab-LAMP is higher than that of microscopic analysis and is almost equal to that of PCR,” says Alonso-Padilla. The advantage is that PrintrLab should be cheaper than PCR and requires minimal infrastructure.

All infected infants were treated and cured.emphasizing the importance of identifying and treating newborns as early as possible.