Context: Every year on April 14th, World Chagas Disease Day is observed to raise awareness about a life-threatening illness that can cause severe heart and digestive problems.

World Chagas Disease Day

• World Chagas Disease Day is observed every year on April 14 to raise awareness about Chagas Disease. 

• This date was chosen to commemorate the discovery of the first human case of Chagas disease, which was diagnosed by Brazilian doctor and researcher Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas on April 14, 1909. 

• The theme for World Chagas Disease Day 2023 was “Time to integrate Chagas disease into primary health care,” reflecting the importance of early detection and treatment of this disease.

About Chagas Disease

• It is also called American trypanosomiasis and is a communicable parasitic disease.

• It is caused by the parasite protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi.

• The disease is named after physician Carlos Chagas who first detected it in a Brazillian child in 1909.

Symptoms

• Fever, headaches, rashes and inflammatory nodules, nausea or diarrhoea and muscle or abdominal pain.

• A majority of the patients (70-80 per cent) show an asymptomatic clinical course throughout their lives, making early detection challenging.

Transmission of the disease

• The parasites are mainly transmitted by a family of bugs called ‘triatomines’, also known as the ‘kissing bug’.

• An individual can also contract this disease through congenital transmission (pregnant woman to their baby), blood transfusions, organ transplantation, consumption of uncooked food contaminated with the faecal matter of infected bugs or even accidental laboratory exposure.

• The disease cannot propagate by casual contact with infected humans or animals. 

• Geographical spread: The disease remains most prevalent in Latin America. The most important vectors are found in the rural parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, and Central America. 

Treatment

• There are currently no vaccines available for Chagas disease.

• The disease can be treated with antiparasitic medicines Benznidazole and Nifurtimox.