Placental Infection by Trypanosome Cruzi, the Causal Agent of Congenital Chagas ́ Disease

Placenta is a transitory organ which simultaneously separate and connect mother and fetus. It has the major importance in the nutrition of fetus, scavenger waste products from fetus, secretion of hormones and immunological factors, allowing fetus to grow in a sea of maternal immunologic environment and regulating mother metabolism. Also, placenta protects fetus to some infectious agents. It has been described that placental barrier is effective to avoid viral, bacterial and protozoan fetal infections, such as Cytomegalovirus, Lysteria monocytogenes and Trypanosoma cruzi (Dolcini et al., 2008; Leopardi et al., 1994; Robbins et al., 2010).