The evolution of Chagas disease (American Trypanosomiasis) control after 90 years since Carlos Chagas discovery

Abstract

Chagas disease is one of the most serious parasitic diseases of Latin America, with a social and economic impact far outweighing the combined effects of other parasitic diseases such as malaria, leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis. Serological data indicate well over 16 million people are infected with the causative agent, Trypanosoma cruzi, with a further 100 million people considered at risk The World Bank, in 1993, calculated an annual loss due to Chagas disease of 2,740,000 'disability-adjusted life years' (DALYs), representing an economic loss to the endemic countries of Latin America equivalent to over US$6.5 billion per year