by Martínez-Peinado N, Gabaldón-Figueira JC, Rodrigues Ferreira R, Carmen Thomas M, López MC, Araújo-Jorge TC, Alarcón de Noya B, Berón S, Ramsey J, Losada-Galván I, Schijman AG, González Martínez A, Ruiz AM, Rojas G, Saraiva RM, Noya-González O, Gómez A, Maldonado RA, Pinto J, Torrico F, Scandale I, Agüero F, Pinazo M-J, Gascón J, Hasslocher-Moreno AM, Alonso-Padilla. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2024; 18(8): e0012166. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012166.
Summary: The diagnosis of Chagas disease requires costly equipment and trained personnel, and assessment of treatment efficacy is hampered by the slow seroreversion. There is an urgent need for biomarkers of early therapeutic efficacy and disease prognosis, as well as more practical diagnostic tools. Studies that can address these needs require collections of good quality, traceable clinical samples associated with appropriate clinical-epidemiological information. The authors of this manuscript provide a standard protocol for the collection, processing, storage, and transport of clinical samples from patients with Chagas disease. The protocol was produced after reaching a consensus among experts within the NHEPACHA network, and has been translated into Spanish and Portuguese.
