Current Situation of Chagas Disease in Non-Endemic Countries

Chagas disease in non-endemic countries.

Epidemiology of Chagas Disease in Non- Endemic European Countries

Chagas Disease (CD) or American trypanosomiasis was described by Carlos Justiniano Ribeiro Chagas more than a century ago, in 1909. He identified both the causative agent of this infectious disease (Trypanosoma cruzi, T. cruzi) and its transmission vector, and further described the clinical picture of the disorder and possible reservoirs of the parasite.1 World Health Organization (WHO) classif...

Ecoepidemiology, short history and control of Chagas disease in the endemic countries and the new challenge for non-endemic countries

Chagas disease is maintained in nature through the interchange of three cycles: the wild, peridomestic and domestic cycles. The wild cycle, which is enzootic, has existed for millions of years maintained between triatomines and wild mammals. Human infection was only detected in mummies from 4,000-9,000 years ago, before the discovery of the disease by Carlos Chagas in 1909. With the beginning o...

Current situation of Chagas disease in Central America.

Chagas disease in Central America is known since 1913 when the first human case was reported in El Salvador. The other Central American countries reported their first cases between 1933 and 1967. On October 1997 was launched the Central American Initiative for Chagas Disease Control (IPCA). The objectives of this sub-regional Initiative are: (1) the elimination of Rhodnius prolixus in Central A...

Epidemiology of Chagas disease in non-endemic countries: the role of international migration.

Human infection with the protozoa Trypanosoma cruzi extends through North, Central, and South America, affecting 21 countries. Most human infections in the Western Hemisphere occur through contact with infected bloodsucking insects of the triatomine species. As T. cruzi can be detected in the blood of untreated infected individuals, decades after infection took place; the infection can be also ...