Chagas disease prevalence among migrants from El Salvador in Milan: a cross- sectional study of an often-overlooked population

BACKGROUND

Chagas disease (CD) is considered to be highly endemic in El Salvador, where its prevalence is estimated to be 1.3-3.7%. Although more than 40,000 migrants from El Salvador are currently living in Europe (particularly in Spain and Italy), there are few data regarding the prevalence of CD in this population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of CD among Salvadorans living in Italy.

METHODS

A cross-sectional serological survey of CD among Salvadorans living in the metropolitan area of Milan was carried out between October 2017 and December 2019. The participants' blood samples were tested for Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies using two different serological assays. The collected demographic data included their biological sex, province of origin, the type of housing in their country of origin, and family history of CD.

RESULTS

Of the 384 subjects who voluntarily participated in the study, five (1.3%, most coming from La Paz) were positive to both serological assays and therefore conclusively diagnosed as having CD. Five other subjects had discrepant serological results but were not positive to a third assay. Three of the five subjects with a diagnosis of CD completed medical staging, one of whom had chronic disease (digestive and cardiac involvement).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of CD among Salvadorans living in Milan is similar to that estimated by the WHO in 2010. Although they are often overlooked in CD surveys, Salvadoran migrants should be included in CD control programs in countries in which the disease is not endemic.

Pandemic grief in El Salvador: factors that predict dysfunctional grief due to a COVID-19 death among Salvadoran adults

Thousands of people have died of COVID-19 in El Salvador. However, little is known about the mental health of those who are mourning the loss of a loved one to COVID-19. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the dysfunctional grief associated with COVID-19 death among Salvadoran adults. A sample of 435 Salvadorans (M = 29 years; SD = 8.75) who lost a family member or loved one to COVID-19 completed a digital survey using the Google Forms platform, during April 2 and 28, 2022. The results revealed that 35.1% reported clinically elevated symptoms of dysfunctional grief and among those mourners, and 25.1% also exhibited clinical levels of coronavirus anxiety. A binary logistic regression revealed that predictor variables such as COVID-19 anxiety (p = .003), depression (p = .021), and COVID-19 obsession (p = .032) were significant (χ² = 84.31; Nagelkerke R² = .242) and predict a 24.2% chance of dysfunctional bereavement.