{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T04:17:04Z","timestamp":1790223424722,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783468800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100013844","name":"Fundaci\u00f3n Mundo Sano","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100013844","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/044q15w81","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["TropicalMed"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of infectious diseases remains a public health challenge in socially vulnerable regions with limited healthcare access. This study assessed the epidemiological situation, spatial distribution, and socioeconomic context of MTCT infections\u2014Chagas disease (ChD), syphilis, HIV, and hepatitis B (HB)\u2014in the Gran Chaco region (Argentina\u2013Paraguay), 2018\u20132024. Epidemiological data from 2877 patients enrolled in an MTCT Plus programme were analysed, alongside socioeconomic variables and spatio-temporal cluster analysis using SaTScan software. Maternal seroprevalence of ChD was 4.1%, the highest among the infections evaluated. Syphilis prevalence was 0.8%, while no HIV or HBV infections were detected among screened pregnant women. Two statistically significant spatiotemporal clusters of maternal Trypanosoma cruzi seropositivity were identified: a household-level cluster in 2018 and a regional cluster during 2019\u20132021. The highest prevalence of maternal ChD seropositivity was observed in census tracts with greater socioeconomic vulnerability, although this spatial overlap was assessed descriptively. These findings highlight the effectiveness of integrated maternal\u2013child health services in ensuring coverage, timely diagnosis, and treatment in vulnerable populations. The identified spatial patterns provide evidence to support targeted surveillance and coordinated binational public health strategies in border regions affected by persistent social inequalities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed11070188","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T14:27:23Z","timestamp":1783520843000},"page":"188","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Distribution of Mother-to-Child Transmitted (MTCT) Infections and Socioeconomic Vulnerability Within the Gran Chaco Region"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-0180-3667","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carla","family":"Rodr\u00edguez Gonz\u00e1lez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The Instituto de Altos Estudios Espaciales Mario Gulich (CONAE-UNC), Cordoba X5186AAE, Argentina"},{"name":"National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susana","family":"\u00c1vila","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fundaci\u00f3n Mundo Sano, Buenos Aires C1053ABK, Argentina"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Karina","family":"Cardone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fundaci\u00f3n Mundo Sano, Buenos Aires C1053ABK, Argentina"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mariana","family":"Fern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fundaci\u00f3n Mundo Sano, Buenos Aires C1053ABK, Argentina"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Favio","family":"Crudo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fundaci\u00f3n Mundo Sano, Buenos Aires C1053ABK, Argentina"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4633-2161","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ver\u00f3nica","family":"Andreo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Instituto de Altos Estudios Espaciales Mario Gulich (CONAE-UNC), Cordoba X5186AAE, Argentina"},{"name":"National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1470-5146","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"M. Victoria","family":"Periago","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina"},{"name":"Fundaci\u00f3n Mundo Sano, Buenos Aires C1053ABK, Argentina"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"WHO (2022). Governance for the Validation of Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV, Syphilis and Hepatitis B Virus: An Overview of Validation Structures and Responsibilities at National, Regional and Global Levels, World Health Organization."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"WHO (2022). Global Health Sector Strategies on HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections for the Period 2022\u20132030, World Health Organization."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Organizaci\u00f3n Panamericana de la Salud (2017). 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