Chagas disease

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Chagas disease is a tropical parasitic disease reason by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi is usually transmitted to humans and other mammals by an insect vector, the blood-sucking bugs of the subfamily Triatominae most commonly species belonging to the Triatoma, Rhodnius, and Panstrongylus genera. The disease may also be extend through blood transfusion and organ transplantation, ingestion of food contaminated with parasites, and from a mother to her fetus. The symptoms of Chagas disease differ over the course of an infection. In the early, acute stage, symptoms are mild and usually produce no more than local swelling at the site of infection. The early acute phase is responsive to antiparasitic treatments, with 60-90% cure rates.

After 4–8 weeks, persons with active infection enter the chronic phase of Chagas disease that is asymptomatic for 60-80% of chronically infected individuals through their lifetime. The antiparasitic treatments also appear to delay or avoid the development of disease symptoms during the chronic phase of the disease, but 20-40% of chronically infected individuals will still eventually develop life-threatening heart and digestive system disorders. The now available antiparasitic treatments for Chagas disease are benznidazole and nifurtimox, which can cause temporary side effects in many patients including skin disorders, brain toxicity, and digestive system irritation.

Chagas disease is fine primarily in the Americas, particularly in poor, rural areas of Mexico, Central America, and South America; very rarely, the disease has originated in the Southern United States. The insects that spread the disease are known by different local names, including vinchuca in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, barbeiro in Brazil, pito in Colombia, chinche in Central America, chipo in Venezuela, chupança, chinchorro, and "the kissing bug". Large-scale population actions from rural to urban areas of Latin America and to other regions of the world have enlarged the geographic distribution of Chagas disease, and cases have been noted in many countries, particularly in Europe. Control strategies have mostly alert on eliminating the triatomine insect vector and avoid transmission from other sources.

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