Building an innovative Chagas disease program for primary care units, in an urban non- endemic city

摘要

BackgroundOn an absolute basis, Argentina is the country with the largest affected population with Chagas Disease (ChD). This constitutes a significant public health issue. As a consequence of Argentina’s migratory patterns, there has been a significant increase of affected population in urban centers. An innovative project for early diagnosis and timely treatment of ChD was designed for Municipal Primary Care Facilities of La Plata City, a non- endemic area, in line with a proposal from the Pan-American Health Organization. The project was a public –private intervention. The objectives of this study were to demonstrate the feasibility of the primary healthcare level for early diagnosis and timely treatment of ChD; to design and implement a tailor made program and to innovate in a public-private association.