The importance of clinical, psychological, and social effects experienced by patients with American trypanosomiasis (Chagas' disease).

Chagas’ disease (American trypanosomiasis) is an infection of man and other mammals caused by the flagellated protozoan TryPanosoma cruzi. The human disease features prominently among the parasitic diseases of man in nearly all Latin American countries. An unusual feature of Chagas’ diseaseas compared with other diseases caused by pathogenic protozoa-is that the parasite develops inside cells of living tissues, often damaging those tissues. The most common clinical condition encountered in chronic human cases is cardiomyopathy. This is usually accompanied by cardiomegalyleading to abrupt cardiac failure and sudden death. Other commonly affected organs are the esophagus and large intestine, which may develop conditions known respectively as megaesophagus and megacolon. Any of these conditions can produce serious debilitating effects that impair the patient’s physical capabilities. Unlike African trypanosomiasis (sleeping