Congenital chagas disease: Alert of research negligence

Abstract

Introduction: Chagas disease (CD), a neglected endemic disease in Latin America, has acquired new epidemiological characteristics with an increase in the importance of alternative transmission routes such as congenital transmission. We evaluated the scientific research on this subject. Methods: We searched the Scielo, BVS, and PubMed databases from 2006 to 2017. Results: We identified a small number of published articles, mostly in journals with an impact factor less than 3.0. Studies on human congenital transmission of CD were carried out in only seven different countries. Conclusions: Our data highlight the lack of research on congenital CD.