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Chagas disease is caused by infection with the protozoan parasite T. cruzi, which is typically introduced into humans through the bite of triatomine bugs, also called "kissing bugs". [4] When the insect defecates at the bite site, motile T. cruzi forms called trypomastigotes enter the bloodstream and invade various host cells. [5]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 8 million people in Mexico and Central and South America are infected with Chagas disease, yet most don't even know it. There's no approved ...
There are currently around 28,000 new cases of Chagas disease annually, a significant decrease from 700,000 new cases diagnosed in 1990. [ 6 ] Like other species of kissing bugs, Triatoma sanguisuga is known to bite humans in the face, usually around the mouth or eyes, and feed off the blood.
The disease has spread to the U.S. in the last 40 years, says the American Heart Association, but many doctors are unfamiliar with how to diagnose and treat it.
People with chronic Chagas disease may develop organ dysfunction, which most commonly involves the heart or the digestive system. Chagas disease can be treated using the antiparasitic drugs benznidazole and nifurtimox, which are most effective in the early stage of infection. It is estimated that 6.5 million people worldwide are living with the ...
Doctors, researchers, and patient advocates say the U.S. could be doing far more to combat Chagas, which causes serious heart disease in an estimated 30% of infected people and can also lead to ...
Infection with Chagas disease occurs after Rhodnius releases protozoans in its feces immediately following a blood meal. The parasite enters the victim through the bite wound after the human host scratches the bite. Infection may also occur via blood transfusion and ingestion of food contaminated with kissing bug feces. [citation needed]
In areas where Chagas disease occurs (from the southern United States to northern Argentina), all triatomine species are potential vectors of the Chagas disease parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, but only those species that are well adapted to living with humans (such as Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus) are considered important vectors.