Transfusion-acquired Trypanosoma cruzi infection

BACKGROUND: A 31/2-year-old girl with Stage 4 neuroblastoma received multiple blood components and was subsequently diagnosed with Chagas disease, which is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: All blood donors of the units that were transfused were requested to return to the collection facility for a blood sample to be tested for antibodies to T. cruzi. RESULTS: One first-time donor was found to be positive for the presence of T. cruzi antibodies. This donor was originally from Bolivia and immigrated to the United States 17 years previously. She had not returned to her native country since her emigration. CONCLUSIONS: This is the seventh reported case of Chagas disease transmission by blood transfusion in the United States and Canada. Although this would not be expected to occur in New England, it did, and this case demonstrates the significance of the immune status of patients as it relates to transfusion-acquired infections, the impact of geographic mobility in disease transmission, and the need for a licensed screening test for Chagas disease for the US blood supply.