5.3 ‑Chagas Disease and SOT in 2011:
What Every Transplant Clinician Needs to Know
Roberta Lattes, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Chagas disease ranks among the world’s most neglected diseases. In Latin America 21 countries are endemic for Chagas disease with approximately 108 million people at risk of contracting the infection. Migration from endemic countries has resulted in a significant number of infected individuals living in non endemic areas.

Organ transplantation in patients with chronic Chagas disease and especially the use of organs from infected donors are a matter of debate in endemic and in non endemic regions.

In chronic infected individuals reactivation has occurred post transplant. Also, transmission from an infected donor to a naïve recipient has been described.

This presentation will summarize relevant published data from Argentina and Brazil and unpublished experience from some large transplant centers in Argentina. It will address clinical manifestations of Chagas reactivation and de novo infection, treatment and outcome. It will also outline some guidelines for pre-transplant screening and for post-transplant management.