Trypanosomiasis Vs Chaugas Disease

American trypanosomiasis or Chagas Disease, named after the Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas who described the infection in 1909, is one of the most significant health problems in South and Central America countries. This infection has gained prominence during the last years due to an increase number of cases related to new transmission modes and its dispersion through developed countries caused by higher migrations rates. This disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi that does not have a specific classification into NIH NIAID Emerging Infectious Diseases/Pathogens list (NIH (2015)). Originally this infection was transmitted by Reduviid insects to small mammals and humans during their sleep as reported by Bermudez (2015). While the feeding process the contaminated insect also defecates inside the bite site and deposits the infecting agent. However, the protozoan parasite enters the host during scratching that can occur involuntarily during sleep. For many years Chagas disease was associated with rudimentary buildings made out of clay found in the interior of Latin America countries, such as Brazil and Colombia. Modern day infections include transmutation during pregnancy (mother to child), blood transfusion, and oral ingestion in typical foods (as açaí and sugar cane juice) that collectively corroborate to the dispersion …show more content…
Regarding the fact that there is no vaccination available for Chagas Disease, the main prevention is still combate the infectious insect and treat the symptoms. This disease is still a major cause of morbidity in Latin America region and that is the reason it is deeply studied since its discovery in early 1900s till