Where is Chagas disease most common?

People who have Chagas disease can be found anywhere in the world. However, transmission of the disease by kissing bugs

kissing bugs

Triatomine bugs are a type of reduviid bug that can carry Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease.

https://www.cdc.gov › parasites › chagas › gen_info › vectors

Triatomine Bug FAQs - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(vectorborne transmission), only occurs in the Americas. Most people with Chagas disease became infected in rural areas of Mexico, Central America, and South America.

Which country has the most Chagas disease?

Chagas disease is the most prevalent communicable tropical disease in Latin America. The most important vectors are the Triatoma infestans in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Peru; the R. prolixus in Colombia, Venezuela and Central America; the T.

Is Chagas disease found in India?

Human trypanosomiasis is commonly known as sleeping sickness in Africa (T. brucei) and Chaga's disease (T. cruzi) in South America. It was therefore surprising to read a report about the discovery of first human trypanosomiasis in Shivani village, Chandrapur district of Mahrashtra 140 km.

Is Chagas disease found in the United States?

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.

Where is Chagas disease found in the body?

Chagas (CHAH-gus) disease is an inflammatory, infectious disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. This parasite is found in the feces of the triatomine (reduviid) bug.

Chagas Disease - An overview

Who is the most common victim of Chagas?

People who have Chagas disease can be found anywhere in the world. However, transmission of the disease by kissing bugs (vectorborne transmission), only occurs in the Americas. Most people with Chagas disease became infected in rural areas of Mexico, Central America, and South America.

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 percentage of kissing bugs carry Chagas?

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.

What attracts kissing bugs?

Kissing bugs can be attracted by light. Consider turning off lights near homes and kennels at night. Seal cracks and gaps to prevent kissing bugs from entering your home. Check windows, walls, roofs, and doors.

What to do if you find a kissing bug?

If you find a kissing bug, the CDC recommends you do not touch or squash it. To help understand the problem and how many carry the disease, the CDC is asking for help. They suggest you place a container on top of the kissing bug for 24 hours, and then seal the bug inside the container.

Are kissing bugs found in India?

They are endemic to central and southern America, but are also found in India, Africa and various Middle Eastern countries. Most kissing bug species are found outdoors, in the homes of wild vertebrates, such as in burrows or nests.

What kills Chagas disease?

Treatment. To kill the parasite, Chagas disease can be treated with benznidazole or nifurtimox. Both medicines are nearly 100% effective in curing the disease if given soon after infection at the onset of the acute phase, including the cases of congenital transmission.

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.

Is Chagas disease lifelong?

Chagas disease has an acute and a chronic phase. If untreated, infection is lifelong.

Is Chagas disease preventable?

Chagas disease is a preventable infection caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and spread by infected insects called triatomine bugs, also known as “kissing bugs.” The initial infection usually does not cause severe symptoms and is often not even diagnosed.

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.

Do kissing bugs live in beds?

Kissing bugs can hide in cracks and holes in beds, floors, walls, and furniture. They are most likely to be found: Near places where a pet, such as a dog or cat, spends time. In areas where mice or other rodents live.

Do kissing bugs bite at night?

They are hosts to the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which can cause Chagas disease in humans. Kissing bugs are bloodsuckers of warm-blooded creatures that feed at night. Klotz J.H.

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.

When should you get tested for Chagas?

Indications for Testing

Laboratory testing for Chagas disease is indicated in individuals who are at risk when clinical findings point to acute- or chronic-phase infection.

How can you prevent Chagas disease?

How long can kissing bugs live?

The life span of kissing bugs in North America is approximately a year, perhaps longer for the large southern species, Triatoma recurva. In the temperate zone, there is usually one generation per year, whereas in Mesoamerica and parts of tropical South America, several generations of bugs may occur within a year.

Where is the kissing bug found?

They are typically found in the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America (as far south as southern Argentina). The map below details triatomine occurrence by U.S. state. Triatomines are mostly active at night and feed on the blood of mammals (including humans), birds, and reptiles.

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.

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.