Chagas Disease

JORGE RABINOVICH

Encyclopedia of Pest Management

Marcel Dekker

Lugar: New York; Año: 2002; p. 123 - 125

Chagas disease results from infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosomacruzi. In humans it is characterized by an initial acute phase with parasites circulating in blood. As parasitaemia declines the infection becomes latent and an acquired, humoral and cell-mediated immune resistance modulates the host/parasite relation, with no clinical manifestation. A chronic phase follows, with cardiac, brain, digestive and other clinical signs. No safe and effective chemotherapy exists, so early case detection and treatment are of little value. Chagas disease affects about 250 million people in Latin America, and approximately 24 million are seropositive for T. cruzi. Sixty-five million people have been estimated to be at risk in endemic areas (1). There is no reliable number for new cases each year, but crude estimates suggest rates of up to 850,000 new infections per year. Serological surveys indicate that between 5 and 10% of national populations are infected.