Chagas Disease

What is Chagas disease?

Photo: Gabriel L. Hamer

Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to animals and people by insect vectors called triatomines or kissing bugs. It is found only in the Americas and is also referred to as American trypanosomiasis. It is estimated that as many as 8 million people living 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 fatal. Chagas disease and the vector that transmits the disease is present in the Southern United States. It is estimated that more than 300,000 people in the United States have Chagas disease and may not know they are infected.

How is Chagas disease transmitted?

People can become infected in several ways, however the most common way is from the insect vector called triatomine bugs, commonly referred to as kissing bugs. These blood-sucking bugs get infected with T. cruzi by biting an infected animal or person. Once infected, the bugs pass the parasites in their feces and will often defecate while taking a blood meal. The person can become infected if T. cruzi parasites in the bug feces enter the body through mucous membranes or breaks in the skin. The unsuspecting, sleeping person may accidentally scratch or rub the feces into the bite wound, eyes, or mouth.

Chagas ECHO Sessions

When: March 6, 2024, at 9am PT/ 11am CT/ 12pm ET

Topic: Interprofessional Team Approaches to Chagas Disease Management

Where: Zoom

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Flyer for 4-session series

1.5 CME and CNE credits are available for each session.

Chagas ECHO Hub Team

The Chagas ECHO is supported by a interdisciplinary collaboration of experts from across the United States.

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People also can become infected through:

  • Congenital transmission (from a pregnant woman to her baby)
  • Blood transfusions
  • Organ transplantation
  • Consumption of uncooked food that is contaminated with feces from infected triatomine bugs
  • Accidental laboratory exposure

Chagas disease is not transmitted from person-to-person like a cold or the flu or through casual contact with infected people or animals.

Why is Chagas disease a threat?

There are two phases of Chagas disease. The acute phase that may have flu-like symptoms (if any) and may only last about 8-10 weeks followed by the chronic phase that can be without symptoms for years to decades.

Only about 20 to 30% of people with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection eventually develop clinical disease, predominantly cardiac. Cardiac disease usually begins with conduction abnormalities such as right bundle branch block and/or left anterior fascicular block, which may be followed years later by dilated cardiomyopathy. Later cardiac disease is sometimes accompanied by apical aneurysm and thrombus formation.

Less frequently, patients with Chagas disease experience gastrointestinal disease (megasyndromes). Once the characteristic pathology is established (e.g., dilated cardiomyopathy, megaesophagus), antiparasitic treatment will not reverse it.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/

Chagas ECHO: 4-Part Series

Please check back often as we are regularly updating content. See a full list of recordings here.

Session 4: March 6, 2024

Session topic: Interprofessional Team Approaches to Chagas Disease Management

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Session 3: February 7, 2024

Session topic: Chagas Disease as a Migrant Health Issue

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chagas feb 2024 flyer

Session 2: January 10, 2024

Session topic: Congenital and Pediatric Chagas Disease in the USA

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Session 1: December 6, 2023

Session topic: Chagas Disease in the USA: Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment for Primary Care Clinicians

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Chagas ECHO 2023

Please check back often as we are regularly updating content. See a full list of recordings here.

Session 4: September 29, 2023

Session topic: Chagas Disease and Veterinary Medicine: Tracking a Neglected Disease

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Session 3: April 11, 2023

Session topic: Voices of Chagas Disease: Patients and Physicians Discuss the Barriers to Care in the U.S.

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Chagas Disease ECHO Session April 11th, 2023

Session 2: February 14, 2023

Session summary: In the February session of the 2023 Chagas ECHO for Providers, Morven Edwards, MD, from Baylor College of Medicine presented “Congenital Chagas Disease in the U.S. – Screening, Diagnosis, & treatment Challenges” and Christina Coyle, MD, MS from Albert Einstein College of Medicine presented cases.

 

Didactic slides »

Chagas session flyer_2.14.2023

Session 1: January 24, 2023

Session summary: In the January session of the 2023 Chagas ECHO for Providers, Sarah Hamer, DVM, Ph.D., from Texas A&M University, presented “Epidemiology and Infection in Dogs with Chagas Disease in the U.S.” and Ashley Saunders, DVM from Texas A&M University presented cases that provided examples of infected dogs and their treatments.

 

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Chagas flyer_1.24.2023

Chagas ECHO 2022

Please check back often as we are regularly updating content. See a full list of recordings here.

Session 2: October 13, 2022

Session summary: In the October session of the 2022 Chagas ECHO for Providers, Melissa Nolan, Ph.D., MPH, from the University of South Carolina presented “Chagas Disease in the United States” and Natalie Bowman, MD, Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina presented “Seek and You Shall Find – Diagnosing and Treating Chagas Disease in North Carolina” as well as case presentations that provided examples of patients and their treatments.

 

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Chagas flyer_10.13.2022

Session 1: May 31, 2022

Session summary: In the first session of the 2022 Chagas ECHO for Providers, Gabriel Hamer, Ph.D. from the Texas A&M University presented “One Health and Chagas Disease: Understanding Triatomines in the United States” and Walter Roachell, MS at the US Army Public Health Command Central presented “DoD Chagas Response.” This was followed by case presentations from Norman Beatty, MD from the University of Florida that provided examples of patients and their situations.

 

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Chagas ECHO 2021

Please check back often as we are regularly updating content. See a full list of recordings here.

Session 1: May 6, 2021

Session summary: In the first session of the re-launched Chagas ECHO for Providers, Rachel Marcus, MD at MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute presented on Community-Based Screenings for Chagas Disease. This was followed by a case from Natasha Hochberg, MD, MPH at Boston University School of Medicine that helped exemplify the challenges of detecting Chagas Disease in the population.

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Chagas Session 1 Physician Flyer[2]

Session 2: June 23, 2021

Session summary: In the June session of the Chagas ECHO for Providers, Bonny Mayes, MA at the Department of State Health Services presented on the process of testing for Chagas disease from the state level. Then, Susan Montgomery, DVM at the CDC, presented about the CDC’s role in Chagas disease testing. This was followed by a case about a patient who is suspected to have Chagas disease, giving an example of the appropriate steps to take in this scenario.

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Chagas ECHO flyer for June session

Session 3: September 28, 2021

Session summary: In the September session of the Chagas ECHO for Providers, Norman Beatty, MD at the University of Florida on the use of rapid diagnostic testing for Chagas disease screening. Then, Alfonso Rodriguez, MD at the University of Florida shared two cases about suspected Chagas in U.S. born travelers, discussing options for next steps and appropriate care in both scenarios.

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September Chagas ECHO flyer

Session 4: November 30, 2021

Session summary: At the November session of the Chagas ECHO for Providers, Colin Forsyth, PhD, MPH at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, presented on “Increasing Access to Testing and Treatment for Chagas Disease in the U.S.: Understanding Patient and Community Perspectives.” Following this, Rachel Marcus, MD, FACC, FASE presented three Chagas disease cases giving examples of patients and their situations.

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Chagas ECHO 2020

Kissing bugResources for Community Health Workers

In Fall 2019, UT Health San Antonio hosted a Chagas Disease ECHO for building awareness among Community Health Workers and promotoras. Presentations slides are available below: 

Session 1Session 2Session 3Session 4

Chagas parasite: Trypanosoma cruziResources for physicians

From January through June 2020, UT Health San Antonio is hosting a Chagas Disease ECHO for physicians. Presentations slides are available below. Check back for updates. 

Chagas in Primary CareInsights from CardiologyChagas for OB/GYN & PediatricsDiagnosis and Treatment of Chagas

Resources

What you should know about kissing bugs

The University of Arizona provides information about kissing bugs and health concerns.

Visit the University of Arizona Chagas page »

Data and reporting

The Texas Department of State Health Services provides state-specific data and resources for education

Visit the DSHS Chagas page

National data & resources

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides access to national databases with emphasis on trends, treatments, and resources/publications

Visit the CDC Chagas page

Testing and identifying

Texas A&M provides illustrations of bugs for easier identification and elimination. The institution also accepts bugs for testing.

Visit the Texas A&M Chagas page

Found a bug?

Publications

Below is a selection of publications that explore the threat of Chagas and opportunities for identification, screening, and treatment.

Addressing the Challenges of Chagas Disease: An Emerging Health Concern in the United States. Edwards, M. S., Stimpert, K. K., & Montgomery, S. P. (2017). Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice, 25(3), 118-125.

Current Gaps and Needs for Increasing Access to Healthcare for People with Chagas Disease in the USA. Forsyth, C. J., Granados, P. S., Pacheco, G. J., Betancourt, J. A., & Meymandi, S. K. (2019). Current Tropical Medicine Reports, 6(1), 13-22.

Prevalence of Chagas disease in the Latin American–born population of Los Angeles. Meymandi, S. K., Forsyth, C. J., Soverow, J., Hernandez, S., Sanchez, D., Montgomery, S. P., & Traina, M. (2017). Clinical Infectious Diseases, 64(9), 1182-1188.

Chagas Disease. Bern, C. (2015). New England Journal of Medicine, 373(5), 456-466.