Chagas Disease Epidemiology: From Latin America to the World

Treatment With Suboptimal Dose of Benznidazole Mitigates Immune Response Molecular Pathways in Mice With Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy

“…Chagas disease (CD) or American trypanosomiasis is an infectious disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi , responsible for an estimated 6 to 7 million people infected and approximately 75 million at risk of infection ( World Health Organization, 2021 ). Chagas disease was originally endemic in rural areas of Latin American countries, where Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Bolivia remain with the highest prevalence of infected people ( Alarcón de Noya and Jackson, 2020 ). However, as globalization and migration mobility accelerated over the years, CD has disseminated to countries not originally endemic, such as United States, Spain, Japan, and Australia ( Rassi et al., 2012 ; Antinori et al., 2017 ; Nunes et al., 2018 ; Bern et al., 2019 ; Alarcón de Noya and Jackson, 2020 ).…”

“…Chagas disease was originally endemic in rural areas of Latin American countries, where Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Bolivia remain with the highest prevalence of infected people ( Alarcón de Noya and Jackson, 2020 ). However, as globalization and migration mobility accelerated over the years, CD has disseminated to countries not originally endemic, such as United States, Spain, Japan, and Australia ( Rassi et al., 2012 ; Antinori et al., 2017 ; Nunes et al., 2018 ; Bern et al., 2019 ; Alarcón de Noya and Jackson, 2020 ). Health care of currently infected individuals entails an expense of $7 billion annually, which poses as an enormous economic burden on global public health ( Lee et al., 2013 ; Alarcón de Noya and Jackson, 2020 ).…”

“…However, as globalization and migration mobility accelerated over the years, CD has disseminated to countries not originally endemic, such as United States, Spain, Japan, and Australia ( Rassi et al., 2012 ; Antinori et al., 2017 ; Nunes et al., 2018 ; Bern et al., 2019 ; Alarcón de Noya and Jackson, 2020 ). Health care of currently infected individuals entails an expense of $7 billion annually, which poses as an enormous economic burden on global public health ( Lee et al., 2013 ; Alarcón de Noya and Jackson, 2020 ). Chagas disease has a 4- to 8-week acute phase, characterized by patent parasitemia and inflammation due to tissue parasitism ( Nunes et al., 2018 ), usually asymptomatic or causing broad symptoms manifestations as fever, enlargement of lymph nodes, and subcutaneous edema, which jeopardize a clear diagnosis ( Rassi et al., 2012 ).…”

Treatment with benznidazole and pentoxifylline regulates microRNA transcriptomic profile in a murine model of Chagas chronic cardiomyopathy

“…It is estimated that 6-7 million people are infected, and approximately 75 million are exposed to the risk of infection [2]. Chagas disease has been considered endemic to rural regions of Latin America, where vector transmission is the main route of infection [3,4], causing a loss of approximately 750,000 working days due to premature death and $1.2 billion in productivity losses yearly [5]. Additionally, since human migration has considerably increased in the last several years, the infection has been disseminated to countries not originally endemic, such as the United States, Spain, Japan, and Australia.…”

“…Additionally, since human migration has considerably increased in the last several years, the infection has been disseminated to countries not originally endemic, such as the United States, Spain, Japan, and Australia. The lack of screening in blood banks and the inexperience of health professionals in diagnosing and managing the disease has contributed to organ transplant and congenital transmissions [1,6], causing an economic burden of $7 billion/year for the global public health [4,7].…”