What are the basic signs and symptoms of Chagas disease?

What are the basic signs and symptoms of Chagas disease?

When signs and symptoms do occur, they are usually mild and may include:

  • Swelling at the infection site.
  • Fever.
  • Fatigue.
  • Rash.
  • Body aches.
  • Eyelid swelling.
  • Headache.
  • Loss of appetite.

How long does it take for Chagas disease to show symptoms?

After the incubation period of 1 to 2 weeks, infected patients enter the acute phase of Chagas disease. Transfusion- and transplant-associated cases may have a longer incubation period, sometimes up to 120 days.

How is chronic Chagas diagnosed?

The diagnosis of Chagas disease can be made by observation of the parasite in a blood smear by microscopic examination. A thick and thin blood smear are made and stained for visualization of parasites.

Can chronic Chagas be cured?

Trypanosoma cruzi infection is curable if treatment is initiated soon after infection. In chronic patients, antiparasitic treatment can potentially prevent or curb disease progression and prevent transmission, for instance, mother-to-child infection.

How long do Chagas disease symptoms last?

Chagas disease has an acute and a chronic phase. If untreated, infection is lifelong. Acute Chagas disease occurs immediately after infection, and can last up to a few weeks or months. During the acute phase, parasites may be found in the circulating blood.

Which parasite causes African sleeping sickness?

African Trypanosomiasis, also known as “sleeping sickness”, is caused by microscopic parasites of the species Trypanosoma brucei. It is transmitted by the tsetse fly (Glossina species), which is found only in sub-Saharan Africa.

How does Chagas disease affect the heart?

The pathology of Chagas disease is based in an inmunoinflammatory reaction producing fibrosis and remodelling, mainly in the myocardium. In many cases these mechanisms result in a dilated cardiomyopathy with HF and reduced ejection fraction, frequent cardiac arrhythmias and different types of heart block.

Can blood test detect Chagas?

If you have the signs and symptoms of Chagas disease, blood tests can confirm the presence of the parasite or the proteins that your immune system creates (antibodies) to fight the parasite in your blood.

What organs does Chagas disease affect?

The heart is the most commonly affected organ in persons with chronic Chagas disease. Autopsy may reveal marked bilateral ventricular enlargement, often involving the right side more than the left, in the heart of patients who die of chagasic heart failure (see image below).

Is African sleeping sickness fatal?

Sleeping sickness is curable with medication but is fatal if left untreated.

What are the symptoms of Chagas disease?

Symptoms may include swelling at the infection site, fever, fatigue, body aches, rash and nausea. The cause of Chagas disease is the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is spread from an insect known as the triatomine bug, or “kissing bug.”

What happens if Chagas is left untreated?

Also called American trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease can infect anyone. Left untreated, Chagas disease later can cause serious heart and digestive problems. Treatment of Chagas disease focuses on killing the parasite in acute infection and managing signs and symptoms in later stages.

What is Chagas disease (trypanosomiasis)?

Chagas disease ( T. cruzi infection) is also referred to as American trypanosomiasis. It is estimated that as many as 8 million people in Mexico, Central America, and South America have Chagas disease, most of whom do not know they are infected. If untreated, infection is lifelong and can be life threatening.

What are the control strategies for Chagas disease (Chagas syndrome)?

In the United States and in other regions where Chagas disease is now found but is not endemic, control strategies should focus on preventing transmission from blood transfusion, organ transplantation, and mother-to-baby (congenital transmission).