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Short Report: Screening for Trypanosoma cruzi in the Blood Supply by the Red Cross Blood Bank in Quito, Ecuador

The status of Chagas' disease in Ecuador is not clear. In response to reports suggesting the possibility of transfusion-associated transmission of Chagas' disease in the blood bank in Quito, the Ecuadorian Red Cross in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Higiene, Zona Norte and the Tropical Disease Institute of Ohio University implemented a pilot Chagas' disease screening of the donated blood in the Quito blood bank. The results of the screening showed a low incidence of seropositivity among the donors (0.01% in 1994, 0.04% in 1995, and 0.02% in 1996) to the Quito blood bank and a higher seropositivity in samples donated to smaller blood banks (0.4% in 1994, 0.28% in 1995, and 0.13% in 1996) located in areas considered endemic, as well as from at least two areas previously considered nonendemic for Chagas' disease. This report highlights the need for a comprehensive evaluation of the prevalence and distribution of Chagas' disease in Ecuador.