Does Chagas need to be treated?

Treatment for Chagas disease is recommended for people diagnosed early in the course of infection (acute phase), babies with congenital infection, and for those with suppressed immune systems. Many patients with chronic infection may also benefit from treatment.

What happens if Chagas disease is left untreated?

Left untreated, Chagas disease later can cause serious heart and digestive problems. During the acute phase of infection, treatment of Chagas disease focuses on killing the parasite. In people who have chronic Chagas disease, it's no longer possible to kill the parasite.

Can Chagas go away on its own?

If untreated, infection is lifelong. Acute Chagas disease occurs immediately after infection, and can last up to a few weeks or months. During the acute phase, parasites may be found in the circulating blood. This phase of infection is usually mild or asymptomatic.

How long do you have to treat Chagas disease?

Treatment for Chagas disease includes taking an antiparasitic medicine for up to 2 months.

Can you survive Chagas disease?

Chagas disease (T. cruzi infection) is also referred to as American trypanosomiasis. It is estimated that as many as 8 million people in Mexico, Central America, and South America have Chagas disease, most of whom do not know they are infected. If untreated, infection is lifelong and can be life threatening.

Chagas Disease | American Trypanosomiasis | Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Should I get tested for Chagas?

A specific test is necessary for the diagnosis of Chagas disease. The test detects the presence of the infection through analysis of a blood sample. Anyone who suspects that they may have Chagas disease should ask their doctor to order this test.

How do doctors test for Chagas?

The diagnosis of Chagas disease can be made by observation of the parasite in a blood smear by microscopic examination. A thick and thin blood smear are made and stained for visualization of parasites.

Do all kissing bugs carry Chagas disease?

Scientists have found that about 50% of kissing bugs are infected with the Chagas parasite. Kissing bugs are a 'vector' because they can carry a parasite that can make people and animal sick. The parasite is Trypanosoma cruzi, and it causes Chagas disease.

How fatal is Chagas disease?

About 70-80% of people will remain asymptomatic for life and never develop Chagas-related symptoms. However, an estimated 20–30% of infected people will develop health problems years to decades later that are often fatal.

Is Chagas disease a concern in the US?

More than 5 million people worldwide have Chagas disease. In the United States, there are estimated to be at least 300,000 cases of chronic Chagas disease among people originally from countries of Latin America where Chagas disease is endemic.

How do you know if you've been bitten by a kissing bug?

Kissing bugs can cause patches of bites, often around the mouth. The bites are usually painless, but they may swell and look like hives. Itching from the bites may last a week.

Can you cure chronic Chagas?

Once Chagas disease reaches the chronic phase, medications won't cure the disease. But, the drugs may be offered to people younger than age 50 because they may help slow the progression of the disease and its most serious complications.

Why is Chagas a silent disease?

Chagas disease is prevalent among poor populations of continental Latin America but is increasingly being detected in other countries and continents. It is often termed as a “silent and silenced disease” as the infected majority have no symptoms or extremely mild symptom.

What states is the kissing bug found in?

Most of the world's kissing bugs are in Central and South America and Mexico. They've also been found in the United States in the lower 28 states, with higher concentrations in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. Kissing bugs have been spotted a far north as Delaware, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Does Chagas affect the brain?

The involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) during human acute and chronic Chagas disease (CD) has been largely reported. Meningoencephalitis is a frequent finding during the acute infection, while during chronic phase the CNS involvement is often accompanied by behavioral and cognitive impairments.

Should I be worried about kissing bugs?

The Bottom Line. Kissing bugs can transmit a parasite that leads to a potentially serious illness called Chagas disease. Most cases of Chagas disease occur in Latin America. Although infection directly from exposure to the kissing bug is rare in the US, it is still important to take steps to prevent kissing bug bites.

Can kissing bugs infest your house?

Triatomine bugs (also called “kissing bugs”, cone-nosed bugs, and blood suckers) can live indoors, in cracks and holes of substandard housing, or in a variety of outdoor settings including the following: Beneath porches. Between rocky structures. Under cement.

When is kissing bug season?

Kissing bugs are most commonly encountered during their dispersal season, May through July, as adult kissing bugs fly towards homes attracted by lighting (Wood 1950, Ekkens 1981). Some species actively seek out humans and domestic animals to feed on.

How much is a Chagas test?

Results: The cost of Chagas' disease test in the blood bank of Seccional Bolívar was COP$ 37,804 (USD$ 12), and the blood bag and immunohematology test costs were COP$ 25,941 (USD$ 8.2) and COP$ 6,800 (USD$ 2.2), respectively.

Who is most at risk for Chagas?

Anyone exposed to the feces or urine of an infected kissing bug (triatomine) can develop Chagas disease. The infection is most common in rural or impoverished continental South America, Mexico and Central America.

What organ does Chagas disease target?

Clinical course

Chronic infections are asymptomatic in two thirds of the human population. Chronic Chagas disease affects mostly the heart and the digestive tract.

Should I be worried about Chagas disease?

Decades after being infected, about 30 percent of those who have Chagas develop serious health effects, including cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle), heart failure, heart rhythm problems, and strokes. Less common are disorders that affect the digestive system.

What is the mortality rate of Chagas?

Chagas disease causes approximately 10,000 deaths per year globally. Up to 30% of infected people develop symptoms. Chagas disease can cause: Stroke.

Can ivermectin cure Chagas disease?

Ivermectin and Chagas disease

To our knowledge, a connection between ivermectin and T. cruzi has never been described in the literature (in neither animal reservoirs nor humans). 1 17 To the best of our knowledge, there is currently no evidence that would justify CD treatment with ivermectin.