Sneider Alexander Gutierrez GuarnizoLuciana BasmaShirley EquiliaBeth Jessy CondoriEdith MálagaSiena DefazioEugenio ArteagaJean Karla VelardeMateo ObregónAnshule Takyar2026-03-222026-03-22202510.1101/2025.01.12.25320185https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.12.25320185https://andeanlibrary.org/handle/123456789/83770Citaciones: 2Diagnostic delays prevent most Chagas disease patients from receiving timely therapy during the acute phase when treatment is effective. qPCR-based diagnostic methods provide high sensitivity during this phase but require specialized equipment and complex protocols. More simple and cost-effective tools are urgently needed to optimize early Chagas disease diagnosis in low-income endemic regions. Here, we present a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) that targets a highly conserved region in the HSP70 gene of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi,</i> the causative agent of Chagas disease. This assay demonstrates species-specific amplification across multiple parasite genetic lineages while maintaining stability after 2 hours of incubation and at least 8 months of storage at -20°C. Moreover, the assay is at least 12 times less expensive than the TaqMan qPCR that is currently routinely used for acute Chagas diagnostics. Population-based validation in 100 infants born to Chagas-positive mothers in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, yielded a specificity of 100% and sensitivity exceeding 77% when compared to a TaqMan qPCR that targets satellite DNA. This cost-effective assay holds promise for large-scale diagnosis of Chagas disease in endemic regions with limited resources.enTrypanosoma cruziVirologyGeneBiologyComputational biologyGeneticspreprint