Reporte del grupo de trabajo científico sobre la enfermedad de Chagas

GUHL F; LAZDINS-HELDS J; SOSA-ESTANI S

Buenos Aires

Workshop; Reporte del grupo de trabajo científico sobre la enfermedad de Chagas; 2005

TDR-Organización Mundial de la Salud

Chagas disease is a systemic chronic parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. In 20% to 30% of infected individuals, the disease results in severe cardiopathy or megaoesophagus/megacolon. Insofar as Chagas disease also is a complex zoonosis, a large number of vertebrate reservoirs and triatomine insects participate in the transmission chain, making disease eradication impossible. Chagas disease thus continues to represent a health threat for an estimated in 28 million people, living mostly in Latin America.While Chagas disease occurs throughout Mexico, central and southern America, the clinical manifestations and the epidemiological characteristics are different in the diverse endemic zones. The control strategy for elimination of Chagas disease is based on the control of vectors; systematic screening of blood donors in all endemic countries; detection and treatment of congenital transmission; and treatment of infected children and acute cases. Since the early 1990s, a series of Chagas disease control and elimination campaigns have been undertaken in various regions of the Americas by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WHO Regional Office for the Americas/Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in cooperation with regional and national control authorities, with reference to the different transmission patterns, epidemiological characteristics and clinical manifestations that are characteristic of Chagas in the different regions. These interventions have contributed to interruption of disease transmission in sizeable areas. Brazil, Chile and Uruguay have been declared free of Chagas disease transmission due to Triatoma infestans, the main domiciliated vector in these countries. According to information from 21 countries where the disease is endemic, the number of infected persons today is estimated as 7,694,500 (1,448%); this represents a reduction of 50% from infection rates in 1990. The number of yearly new cases due to vectorial transmission is 41,200 (7.775 per 100,000).The number of new cases of congenital Chagas disease per year is 14,385.