Chagas disease causes
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Chagas disease is caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi which is commonly transmitted to humans through the bite of the kissing bug.
Causes
Chagas' disease is a human tropical parasitic disease which occurs in the Americas, particularly in South America. Its pathogenicagent is a flagellate protozoan named Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to humans and other mammals mostly by blood-sucking assassin bugs of the subfamily Triatominae (Family Reduviidae). Those insects are known by numerous common names varying by country, including benchuca, vinchuca, kissing bug, chipo, chupança and barbeiro. The most common insect species belong to the genera Triatoma, Rhodnius, and Panstrongylus. Other forms of transmission are possible, though, such as ingestion of food contaminated with parasites, blood transfusion and fetal transmission.
Trypanosoma cruzi is a member of the same genus as the infectious agent of African sleeping sickness and the same order as the infectious agent of leishmaniasis, but its clinical manifestations, geographical distribution, life cycle and insect vectors are quite different.