BACKGROUND:

Chagas disease is a zoonosis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite endemic to Latin America. Children become infected by contact with vectors or by congenital transmission.

CLINICAL CASE:

Illiterate indigenous patient, 32 years old, from the rural area of western Colombia, with a history of 7 pregnancies and 6 deliveries, the current pregnancy with 29.5 weeks determined by the third trimester ultrasound, without prenatal controls, with preterm labor and severe oligohydramnios. The pregnancy ended by cesarean section, without complications and the birth of a girl who weighed 1290 g. At 50 days of life, he developed hemodynamic instability, respiratory distress, mucocutaneous pallor and fever with a diagnosis of sepsis of undetermined origin. Extension studies reported: positive microhematocrit parasitaemia for Trypanosoma cruzi, with amastigotes in the cerebrospinal fluid. Diagnosis: Chagasic meningoencephalitis.

CONCLUSIONS:

The vertical transmission of Chagas disease is low; congenital transmission is responsible for the progressive appearance of the disease in endemic and non-endemic areas. In pregnant women, it is important to include screening for Trypanosoma cruzi infection, as part of the prenatal control test suite.