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BIBTEX RIS

Long-term follow-up of co-infected HIV and Trypanosoma cruzi Brazilian patients

2004; Oxford University Press; Volume: 98; Issue: 12 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.trstmh.2004.01.010

1878-3503

Alda Maria Da‐Cruz, Ricardo Pereira Igreja, Wedson Luís dos Reis Dantas, Ângela Cristina Veríssimo Junqueira, R. S. Pacheco, Antônio José da Silva-Gonçalves, Claude Pirmez,

Parasites and Host Interactions

Three cases of Trypanosoma cruzi-HIV co-infected haemophiliacs are described. Parasitological (xenodiagnosis, haemoculture, PCR) and immunological (CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts, in vitro lymphoproliferative responses) studies were performed. Hybridization of isolated parasites with a specific probe confirmed the T. cruzi aetiology. We observed that despite the high parasitaemia, no clinical or parasitological evidence of T. cruzi reactivation was detected. CD4+ T cells decreased with time in two patients and the lymphocyte proliferative response to T. cruzi was very low in all patients. These data suggest that T. cruzi infection may have a long silent course in immunosuppressed HIV patients. Therefore, this parasitic infection should be investigated in any AIDS patient coming from areas endemic for Chagas' disease.