Chagas disease (;,,,, mal de Chagas in both languages ; also called American trypanosomiasis ) is a tropical parasitic disease caused by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi.

The symptoms of Chagas disease vary over the course of an infection.

After 4 – 8 weeks, individuals with active infections enter the chronic phase of Chagas disease that is asymptomatic for 60 – 80 % of chronically infected individuals through their lifetime.

The currently available antiparasitic treatments for Chagas disease are benznidazole and nifurtimox, which can cause temporary side effects in many patients including skin disorders, brain toxicity, and digestive system irritation.

It is estimated that as many as 11 million people in Mexico, Central America, and South America have Chagas disease, most of whom do not know they are infected.

Large-scale population movements from rural to urban areas of Latin America and to other regions of the world have increased the geographic distribution of Chagas disease, and cases have been noted in many countries, particularly in Europe.

An acute Chagas disease infection with swelling of the right eye ( Romaña's sign ).

Gross anatomy of a heart that has been damaged by chronic Chagas disease-see also:: Image: Heart radiology Chagas disease. JPG | Chagas heart, radiology

It usually occurs unnoticed because it is symptom-free or exhibits only mild symptoms that are not unique to Chagas disease.

The most recognized marker of acute Chagas disease is called Romaña's sign, which includes swelling of the eyelids on the side of the face near the bite wound or where the bug feces were deposited or accidentally rubbed into the eye.

Of individuals with chronic Chagas disease, 60 – 80 % will never develop symptoms ( called indeterminate chronic Chagas disease ), while the remaining 20 – 40 % will develop life-threatening heart and / or digestive disorders during their lifetime ( called determinate chronic Chagas disease ).

Chagas disease is a growing problem in Europe, because the majority of cases with chronic infection are asymptomatic and because of migration from Latin America.

The presence of T. cruzi is diagnostic of Chagas disease.

There is currently no vaccine against Chagas disease and prevention is generally focused on fighting the vector Triatoma by using sprays and paints containing insecticides ( synthetic pyrethroids ), and improving housing and sanitary conditions in rural areas.

More recently, the potential of DNA vaccines for immunotherapy of acute and chronic Chagas disease is being tested by several research groups.

Blood donations in all endemic Latin American countries undergo Chagas screening, and testing is expanding in countries, such as France, Spain and the United States, that have significant or growing populations of immigrants from endemic areas.

While these tests are not required in US, an estimated 75 – 90 % of the blood supply is currently tested for Chagas, including all units collected by the American Red Cross, which accounts for 40 % of the U. S. blood supply.

Chronic heart disease caused by Chagas disease is now a common reason for heart transplantation surgery.

While this species carries the parasite that can cause Chagas disease, it rarely infects humans as defecation is delayed 20 – 30 minutes after feeding, in contrast to the immediate defecation behavior displayed by the Latin American species.

It is also known to be associated with many conditions, some of which are: CADASIL syndrome, depression, Alzheimer's disease, Chagas ' disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, dementia, Korsakoff's syndrome, excessive vitamin D ; hypothyroidism ; hyperthyroidism ; general fatigue ; Huntington's disease ; Pick's disease ; progressive supranuclear palsy ( PSP ); schizophrenia ; schizoid personality disorder ; bipolar disorder, and others.

Worldwide, however, the most common cause is Chagas ' disease, an illness endemic to Central and South America that is due to infection by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi.

The Chagos Archipelago ( or ; formerly Bassas de Chagas and later also Oil Islands, known as () in Dhivehi, as () in Hindi and other North Indian languages, and as () in Tamil ), is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean ; situated some due south of the Maldives archipelago.

A more serious problem than their bites is the fact that several of these haematophagous Central and South American species transmit the potentially fatal trypanosomal Chagas disease, sometimes called American trypanosomiasis.

Letter writing is represented by such master hands as D. Francisco Manuel de Mello in familiar epistles, Frei Antonio das Chagas in spiritual, and by five short but eloquent documents of human affection, the " Cartas de Marianna Alcoforada ".

As an adult Pieter is later unable to save his mother from Chagas disease, which she catches in Brazil while visiting him.

In the beginning of the 17th-Century Diogo das Chagas, referred to the villa of Santa Cruz as the " head of the island " and the center of the administration, noting " village ... is very well located with the best port on the island ...".

Trypanosoma cruzi, the trypanosome that causes Chagas disease, is rarely transmitted from cimicids to bats, but it has not been observed replicating after such transmission.

He believed that Chagas disease contracted during the Beagle voyage was consistent with Darwin's account of his fever at that time and his later gastrointestinal complaints, as well as the heart disease later in life that led to Darwin's death.

The historians Gaspar Frutuoso and Diogo das Chagas noted that Van der Haegen cultivated lands ( primarily for wheat export ) and was involved in the indigo / woad industry, as well as exploring for mineral deposits ( likely silver ).

It supports efforts to strengthen national health systems, develop national health research systems, control malaria, Chagas ' disease, urban rabies, leprosy, and other diseases that affect the people of the Americas.

In both zones, Chagas occurs almost exclusively in rural areas, where triatomines breed and feed on the over 150 species from 24 families of domestic and wild mammals, as well as humans, that are the natural reservoirs of T. cruzi.

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 ( such as Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus ) that are well adapted to living with humans are considered important vectors.

He was one of the founders of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, where he worked with other famous Brazilian researchers, such as Oswaldo Cruz himself, Adolfo Lutz and Carlos Chagas ( the discoverer of Chagas disease ) in the areas of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases.

Chagas disease in Latin America ( Endemic ( epidemiology ) | endemic zones )

However, a small proportion occurs secondary to other conditions, such as esophageal cancer or Chagas disease ( an infectious disease common in South America ).

The other human form of trypanosomiasis, called Chagas disease, causes 21, 000 deaths per year ( mainly in Latin America ).

The three major human diseases caused by trypanosomatids are ; African trypanosomiasis ( Sleeping Sickness, caused by Trypanosoma brucei ), South American trypanosomiasis ( Chagas Disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi ), and leishmaniasis ( a set of trypanosomal diseases caused by various species of Leishmania ).

There are two approaches to treating Chagas disease, antiparasitic treatment, to kill the parasite ; and symptomatic treatment, to manage the symptoms and signs of the infection.

Diogo das Chagas also referred to an initial settlement of 30 people, under contract of Terceirenses Antão Vaz and Lopo Vaz de Azevedo ( 1508 – 1510 ), who had little success on Corvo ; they eventually returned to Terceira in 1515, leaving António Silveira de Machado in charge.

; with surname Das Chagas

* He did not seem to have several of the pathological damages present at chronic Chagas disease, such as megacolon and megaesophagus ;

* The numerous partial exacerbations and remissions are unusual in Chagas disease ;

Domestic and sylvatic species can carry the Chagas parasite to humans and wild mammals ; birds are immune to the parasite.

Important, but uncommon causes of abdominal bloating, include large intra-abdominal tumors, such as those arising from ovarian, liver, uterus and stomach cancer ; and megacolon, an abnormal dilation of the colon, due to some diseases, such as Chagas disease, a parasitic infection.

His research proved that, by extensively quantifying the number of neurons of the autonomic nervous system in the Auerbach's plexus, that: 1 ) they were strongly reduced all over the digestive tract ; 2 ) that megacolon appeared only when there was a reduction of over 80 % of the number of neurons 3 ) these pathologies appeared as a result of the disruption of the neurally integrated control of peristalsis ( muscular annular contraction ) in those parts where a strong force is necessary to impel the luminal bolus of feces ; and 4 ) Idiopathic megacolon and Chagas megacolon appear to have the same etiology, namely the degeneration of the Auerbach's myoenteric plexus.

Various syndemics ( although not always labeled as such ) have been described in the literature already, including: the SAVA syndemic ( substance abuse, violence and AIDS ): the hookworm, malaria and HIV / AIDS syndemic: the Chagas disease, rheumatic heart disease and congestive heart failure syndemic: the possible asthma and infectious disease syndemic: the malnutrition and depression syndemic: the TB, HIV and violence syndemic: the whooping cough, influenza, tuberculosis syndemic ; the HIV and STD syndemic ; the stress and obesity syndemic, and the mental health and HIV / AIDS syndemic.