World Chagas Disease Day

Context:

For the first time, the global community is preparing to celebrate 14 April as the first World Chagas Disease Day.

About:

• Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis, has been termed as a “silent and silence disease”, not only because of its slowly progressing and frequently asymptomatic clinical course but also because it affects mainly poor people who have no political voice or access to health care.
• Once endemic in Latin American countries, Chagas disease is now present in many others, making it a global health problem.

Transmission of the disease:

• The disease can be transmitted by vectorial transmission (T. cruzi parasites) are mainly transmitted by contact with feces/urine of infected blood-sucking triatomine bugs.
• These bugs, vectors that carry the parasites, typically live in the wall or roof cracks of poorly-constructed homes in rural or suburban areas.