Two well-defined synthetic peptides TcD and PEP2 were used in a
sero-epidemiological study for the detection of Trypanosoma cruzi
infections in an indigenous group in the Amazon region of Ecuador. Of
the 18 communities studied along the Rio Napo, province of Napo, 15 (83.3%)
were found to be positive for T. cruzi infection. Of the 1,011
individuals examined 61 (6.03%) resulted positive. A prevalence of
infection of 4.8% was found in children aged 1-5 years. The prevalence of
infection increased with age, with adults 50 years or older showing a
maximum prevalence of 18.8%. Autochthonous transmission of T. cruzi is
present among this isolated indigenous population.
