Discuss the cause, progression and prevalence of Chagas disease

Answer 1

Chagas disease occurs mainly in Latin America, where it is endemic and is a vector-borne parasitic disease. Transmitted in the feces of triatomine bugs, or "kissing bugs," the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi currently infects an estimated 10 million people worldwide (World Health Organization, 2010). Triatomine bugs typically encounter humans when they emerge at night from exposed cracks in roughly constructed structures. The bugs feed on blood, biting into skin and then defecating near the wound they create while feeding. The parasites in their feces can thus easily be smeared into contact with human blood, such as when a person rubs the area of a bite. Chagas disease can be transmitted person to person as well, in infected blood. Therefore blood transfusions, pregnancy and childbirth, organ transplants, and accidents where exposure to blood occurs can transmit Chagas disease, in addition to contact with triatomine bug feces (World Health Organization, 2010). Chagas occurs in two stages, the first lasting from the moment a person is infected to approximately two months, characterized by flu-like symptoms and occasionally a skin lesion or swelling of the eyelids. The second stage is chronic, with the parasite slowly attacking the heart and digestive muscles over the course of years, which can lead to death.?