Choroba chagasa
Epidemiologia

Choroba Chagasa, wywoływana przez Trypanosoma cruzi, pozostaje istotnym problemem zdrowia publicznego, szczególnie w Ameryce Łacińskiej, gdzie zakażonych jest około 6-8 milionów osób, a rocznie umiera około 50 000 pacjentów. Transmisja odbywa się głównie przez pluskwiaki triatomowe, ale także wertykalnie (około 15 000 przypadków rocznie w Ameryce Łacińskiej), drogą pokarmową oraz przez transfuzje krwi i przeszczepy narządów. W krajach endemicznych kontrola opiera się na zintegrowanej kontroli wektorów, badaniach przesiewowych dawców krwi oraz wczesnej diagnostyce i leczeniu. W USA szacuje się około 300 000 zakażonych, głównie imigrantów z krajów endemicznych, a choroba jest zgłaszana w 8 stanach. Nadzór epidemiologiczny i entomologiczny, w tym nowoczesne metody jak wykrywanie eDNA, są kluczowe dla monitorowania i kontroli choroby, zwłaszcza w obliczu migracji i zmian klimatycznych wpływających na rozprzestrzenianie się wektorów.

Wprowadzenie do choroby Chagasa

Choroba Chagasa (trypanosomoza amerykańska) jest pasożytniczą chorobą tropikalną wywoływaną przez pierwotniaka Trypanosoma cruzi. Jest to jedna z najważniejszych zaniedbanych chorób tropikalnych, która stanowi poważne zagrożenie dla zdrowia publicznego, szczególnie w Ameryce Łacińskiej, gdzie jest jedną z głównych przyczyn niewydolności serca. Szacuje się, że na całym świecie zakażonych jest około 6-8 milionów osób, a rocznie z powodu tej choroby umiera około 50 000 osób. Kolejne 65-100 milionów ludzi mieszka na obszarach zagrożonych infekcją123.

Choroba Chagasa jest endemiczna w 21 krajach kontynentalnej Ameryki Łacińskiej, gdzie transmisja jest w dużej mierze związana z obecnością owadziego wektora – pluskwiaków z rodziny Reduviidae (nazywanych popularnie „pluskwiakami całującymi” lub „pluskwiakami morderczymi”). Duża liczba gatunków pluskwiaków triatomowych i dzikich zwierząt (rezerwuarów) zakażonych T. cruzi w całej Ameryce oznacza, że infekcja nie może zostać całkowicie wyeliminowana. Zamiast tego, celem zdrowia publicznego jest eliminacja transmisji do ludzi, wczesny dostęp do opieki zdrowotnej i dożywotnia obserwacja zakażonych osób1.

Epidemiologia choroby Chagasa

Chociaż choroba Chagasa najczęściej występuje w Ameryce Łacińskiej, to w wyniku migracji ludności stała się chorobą o zasięgu globalnym. Szacuje się, że w samych Stanach Zjednoczonych żyje ok. 300 000 osób zakażonych T. cruzi, a w Europie i innych regionach świata liczba przypadków również rośnie45.

Dane epidemiologiczne dotyczące choroby Chagasa uległy znacznej poprawie w latach 80. XX wieku w wyniku przekrojowych badań reprezentatywnych demograficznie przeprowadzonych w krajach, w których wcześniej nie były dostępne dokładne informacje. Dzięki skoordynowanemu wielonarodowemu programowi w krajach południowego stożka, transmisja choroby Chagasa przez wektory i transfuzje krwi została przerwana w Urugwaju w 1997 r., w Chile w 1999 r. i w Brazylii w 2006 r. W rezultacie częstość występowania nowych zakażeń T. cruzi na kontynencie południowoamerykańskim zmniejszyła się o 70%6.

Według Światowej Organizacji Zdrowia/Panamerykańskiej Organizacji Zdrowia (WHO/PAHO), w latach 90. XX wieku do 2010 roku, częstość występowania choroby spadła z 18 do 6-8 milionów zakażonych osób, a zapadalność spadła z 200 000 do 40 000 nowych przypadków rocznie. Chociaż te rozbieżności podkreślają trudności związane z uzyskaniem rzetelnych szacunków kluczowych parametrów epidemiologicznych, stały postęp w kontroli choroby Chagasa jest niezaprzeczalny7.

Globalne rozprzestrzenienie i zmieniająca się epidemiologia

Chociaż częstość występowania choroby Chagasa w Ameryce Łacińskiej zmniejszyła się w ostatnich dziesięcioleciach, odnotowano dramatyczny wzrost liczby przypadków w krajach nieendemicznych, co sprawiło, że choroba stała się problemem zdrowia publicznego na całym świecie. Migracje ludzi zostały wskazane jako krytyczny czynnik pojawienia się choroby Chagasa na obszarach, gdzie wcześniej nie była opisywana8.

W tym kontekście choroba Chagasa została już wykryta w nieendemicznych krajach Ameryki Północnej (Kanada i USA), Europy (głównie Hiszpania) oraz regionu Zachodniego Pacyfiku (Australia, Nowa Zelandia i Japonia). Kilku autorów szacuje liczbę przypadków choroby Chagasa na podstawie całkowitej liczby imigrantów przyjętych przez każdy kraj przyjmujący oraz częstości występowania T. cruzi w kraju pochodzenia, zgodnie z Panamerykańską Organizacją Zdrowia9.

Wzorzec epidemiologiczny choroby Chagasa zmienił się również z choroby wiejskiej na chorobę głównie miejską, głównie z powodu mobilności ludności, urbanizacji i emigracji. Przy szacowanych 75 milionach osób zagrożonych infekcją, choroba Chagasa pozostaje głębokim problemem zdrowia publicznego z znaczącymi obciążeniami społecznymi i ekonomicznymi w Ameryce Łacińskiej i poza nią10.

Drogi transmisji i ich wpływ na epidemiologię

Istnieje kilka dróg transmisji choroby Chagasa, co wpływa na jej epidemiologię:

  • Transmisja wektorowa: Uważana za klasyczną drogę transmisji T. cruzi i najbardziej interesującą z epidemiologicznego punktu widzenia ze względu na jej bezpośredni związek z aspektami społecznymi, kulturowymi i ekonomicznymi populacji11.
  • Transmisja wertykalna (z matki na dziecko): Pionowa (matka-dziecko) transmisja T. cruzi jest wiodącym czynnikiem zachorowalności na chorobę Chagasa w krajach wolnych od wektorów i nieendemicznych oraz w miastach lub terytoriach Ameryki Łacińskiej, gdzie transmisja za pośrednictwem wektorów i transfuzji jest skutecznie kontrolowana. Niedawno PAHO zasugerowała, że w Ameryce Łacińskiej występuje rocznie co najmniej 15 000 przypadków12.
  • Transmisja drogą pokarmową: Doustna transmisja T. cruzi jest znacznie bardziej efektywna niż klasyczna (przezskórna) transmisja wektorowa i może reprezentować przodkową drogę transmisji. Zakażenia T. cruzi przenoszone drogą pokarmową są często bardziej klinicznie jawne, cięższe i bardziej śmiertelne niż zakażenia przenoszone przez wektory; zostało to powiązane z ogólnie większymi dawkami infekcyjnymi i może skutkować szczególnie wysokim obciążeniem chorobą w przeliczeniu na przypadek13.
  • Transmisja przez transfuzje krwi i przeszczepy narządów: Ponieważ istnieje znaczny przepływ migrantów z krajów endemicznych do nieendemicznych, transmisja T. cruzi przez transfuzję skażonej krwi stanowi barierę dla kontroli choroby14.

W krajach nieendemicznych transmisja T. cruzi może odbywać się poprzez transfuzje krwi i przeszczepy narządów od zakażonych dawców, a także poprzez transmisję wrodzoną z matki na dziecko podczas ciąży. Powszechne badania przesiewowe donacji krwi w kierunku zakażenia T. cruzi zostały wdrożone w USA w styczniu 2007 r. i obecnie obejmują 75-90% zasobów krwi15.

Nadzór nad chorobą Chagasa

Nadzór jest kluczową interwencją mającą na celu przerwanie „epidemiologicznej ciszy” (w różnych czasach i przestrzeniach geograficznych) cichej i uciszonej choroby, jaką jest choroba Chagasa. WHO koncentruje się na globalnym systemie informacji i nadzoru w celu kontroli choroby Chagasa. Globalny system informacji i nadzoru stworzony przez WHO jest systemem open-source używanym do zbierania dostępnych informacji o chorobie Chagasa z różnych źródeł, wykrywania możliwych epidemiologicznych „miejsc ciszy” (w czasie i przestrzeni) i ułatwiania dostępu do statystyk chorób i elementów pulpitu nawigacyjnego, monitorowania i wskazówek dotyczących kontroli i eliminacji choroby oraz procesów weryfikacji w celu utrzymania osiągnięć16.

Nadzór nad chorobą Chagasa pozostaje ważny w stanach z częstymi podróżnymi z krajów, w których choroba jest endemiczna, oraz z ryzykiem lokalnej transmisji. Działania nadzorcze pomagają zwiększyć świadomość wśród specjalistów ds. zdrowia publicznego i lekarzy oraz mogą pomóc połączyć osoby z przewlekłą chorobą Chagasa z leczeniem17.

Systemy nadzoru i monitorowania

Państwa wdrożyły nadzór w odpowiedzi na badania przesiewowe dawców krwi pod kątem choroby Chagasa i w celu identyfikacji drogi transmisji choroby. Nadzór pozostaje ważny w stanach z dużymi populacjami imigrantów lub częstymi podróżnymi z krajów z chorobą endemiczną oraz dla stanów z ryzykiem lokalnej transmisji18.

Głównym celem dochodzeń w sprawach w Arizonie, Luizjanie, Missisipi i Teksasie jest identyfikacja lokalnej transmisji autochtonicznej, podczas gdy Arkansas i Tennessee zbierają dane o wszystkich sposobach transmisji. Pięć stanów rozpowszechnia dane z nadzoru poprzez raport rozprowadzany wśród świadczeniodawców, a wszystkie sześć stanów publikuje liczby przypadków na stronie internetowej departamentu zdrowia danego stanu lub jako roczne podsumowanie chorób19.

Wysiłki nadzorcze mogą również pomóc w zwiększeniu świadomości wśród dostawców, identyfikacji niezaspokojonych potrzeb opieki zdrowotnej pacjentów oraz wsparciu w łączeniu pacjentów z chorobą Chagasa z leczeniem, aby zapobiec powikłaniom sercowym i żołądkowo-jelitowym20.

Wyzwania w nadzorze i monitorowaniu

Ogromna większość nowych zakażeń (prawdopodobnie 90%) pozostaje niezdiagnozowana, a szacuje się, że 70% zakażonych osób nie jest świadomych swojego stanu. Wypełnienie tej luki, która nieproporcjonalnie dotyka niedostatecznie obsługiwane społeczności i grupy społeczne, ma kluczowe znaczenie dla zmniejszenia obciążenia chorobą Chagasa i poprawy wyników zdrowotnych pacjentów21.

Krajowe systemy informacyjne są niezbędne do monitorowania liczby ostrych i przewlekłych przypadków oraz aktywnych dróg transmisji. Jednakże są one obecne tylko w 6 z 44 krajów, które zgłosiły przypadki do tej pory22.

Znaczącym wyzwaniem, przed którym stoi WHO, jest wzmocnienie krajowych systemów informacji i nadzoru oraz globalnego nadzoru epidemiologicznego i skutecznej weryfikacji postępów w kontroli i eliminacji choroby23.

Programy nadzoru i kontroli muszą być w stanie dostosować się do nowych scenariuszy epidemiologicznych. Chociaż poczyniono znaczne postępy, nie wszystkie kraje zdołały osiągnąć proponowane cele. Pojawiły się nowe wyzwania, takie jak rozprzestrzenianie się choroby z powodu migracji osób żyjących w krajach endemicznych do krajów nieendemicznych, potrzeba zapewnienia zrównoważoności programów, konfrontacja z pojawieniem się lub ponownym pojawieniem się przypadków choroby Chagasa, odzyskanie sił po klęskach żywiołowych, rozszerzenie zasięgu diagnostyki i leczenia oraz osiągnięcie powszechnego dostępu do leczenia24.

Inicjatywy międzynarodowe w nadzorze nad chorobą Chagasa

Począwszy od lat 90. XX wieku, istniały udane inicjatywy międzyrządowe w Ameryce, które doprowadziły do znacznego zmniejszenia transmisji i zwiększenia dostępu do diagnozy i leczenia przeciwpasożytniczego choroby Chagasa25.

WHO uznała chorobę Chagasa za zaniedbaną chorobę tropikalną (NTD) w 2005 roku. Ułatwiło to jej większe uznanie za globalny problem zdrowia publicznego i było instrumentem w umocnieniu prewencji, wczesnej diagnozy i leczenia przeciwpasożytniczego, kompleksowej opieki, wsparcia psychospołecznego, a także działań informacyjnych, edukacyjnych i komunikacyjnych26.

Mapa drogowa NTD na lata 2021-2030 obejmuje chorobę Chagasa wśród chorób przeznaczonych do eliminacji jako problem zdrowia publicznego i proponuje pięć celów: weryfikację przerwania domicylowej transmisji wektorowej, weryfikację przerwania transmisji przez transfuzje, weryfikację przerwania transmisji przez przeszczepy narządów, weryfikację przerwania transmisji wrodzonej oraz 75% pokrycie leczeniem przeciwpasożytniczym kwalifikującej się populacji27.

Inicjatywy regionalne w Ameryce

Inicjatywa Krajów Ameryki Środkowej na rzecz kontroli choroby Chagasa (IPCA w hiszpańskim akronimie) została uruchomiona w 1997 roku przez Gwatemalę, Belize, Salwador, Honduras, Nikaraguę, Kostarykę i Panamę; jej określone cele to (i) eliminacja wprowadzonego wektora, Rhodnius prolixus; (ii) zmniejszenie zarażenia mieszkań przez rodzimą Triatoma dimidiata; oraz (iii) przerwanie transmisji T. cruzi za pośrednictwem transfuzji krwi28.

Przerwanie transmisji choroby Chagasa przez nierodzimy gatunek R. prolixus w Meksyku i Ameryce Środkowej jest, wraz z powszechnym, obowiązkowym badaniem dawców krwi, najważniejszym osiągnięciem IPCAM29.

Inicjatywa Krajów Andyjskich na rzecz kontroli i nadzoru choroby Chagasa (IPA) została oficjalnie uruchomiona w 1997 roku w Bogocie, w Kolumbii, w ramach Porozumienia Hipólito Unanue podpisanego przez Ministerstwa Zdrowia Kolumbii, Ekwadoru, Peru i Wenezueli. Kluczowymi nierozwiązanymi wyzwaniami IPA są terminowa diagnoza zakażenia T. cruzi i integralna opieka nad pacjentem30.

Inicjatywa na rzecz Nadzoru i Zapobiegania Chorobie Chagasa w Amazonii (AMCHA) została uruchomiona przez PAHO-WHO. Określonym celem jest zapobieganie wielkoskalowemu ustanowieniu endemicznej choroby Chagasa przenoszonej przez wektory w regionie31.

Inicjatywa Krajów Południowego Stożka (INCOSUR) odegrała kluczową rolę w kontroli choroby Chagasa w regionie. Wieloletnie doświadczenie INCOSUR pokazuje, że chociaż transmisja T. cruzi przez nierodzime wektory, transfuzje krwi i przeszczepy narządów może być skutecznie ograniczona, to przedkliniczne, kliniczne, społeczne i badania wdrożeniowe są nadal potrzebne do osiągnięcia celów WHO 2030 dotyczących kontroli i zapobiegania chorobie Chagasa32.

Długoletnie doświadczenie tych inicjatyw sugeruje praktyczną niemożliwość przerwania transmisji T. cruzi przenoszonej przez wektory w Ameryce. Koncepcja kontroli choroby wydaje się dostarczać bardziej realistyczny opis tego, co można faktycznie osiągnąć do 2030 roku3334.

Nadzór w krajach endemicznych i nieendemicznych

W krajach endemicznych, zintegrowana kontrola wektorów jest najskuteczniejszą metodą zapobiegania chorobie Chagasa w Ameryce Łacińskiej, w tym chemiczna kontrola za pomocą insektycydów w zarażonych domach, ulepszenia domów w celu zapobiegania zarażeniu wektorami, osobiste środki zapobiegawcze, takie jak moskitiery, oraz informowanie, edukacja i komunikacja ze społecznością na temat chorób przenoszonych przez wektory35.

Inicjatywy w Ameryce pomogły osiągnąć znaczne zmniejszenie liczby ostrych przypadków choroby i obecności domicylowych pluskwiaków triatomowych na obszarach endemicznych. Kraje te osiągnęły wielkie osiągnięcia w kontrolowaniu transmisji T. cruzi przenoszonej przez wektory, w tym przerwanie transmisji przenoszonej przez wektory w 17 dotkniętych krajach i eliminację niektórych gatunków wektorów, wdrożenie uniwersalnych badań przesiewowych dawców krwi w kierunku choroby Chagasa w 21 krajach endemicznych, zwiększenie zasięgu i zdolności diagnozy oraz leczenia wrodzonych przypadków choroby Chagasa, rozszerzony zasięg diagnozy i dostęp do leczenia oraz opieki klinicznej nad osobami zakażonymi i chorymi3637.

Nadzór w Stanach Zjednoczonych i innych krajach nieendemicznych

W 2017 roku choroba Chagasa podlegała obowiązkowi zgłaszania w sześciu stanach USA. Większość zidentyfikowanych przypadków, w tym wśród dawców krwi, to przypadki przewlekłe i nie są one wynikiem lokalnej transmisji przenoszonej przez wektory38.

Choroba Chagasa jest chorobą podlegającą zgłoszeniu w 8 stanach USA (Teksas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Arizona, Luizjana, Missisipi, Utah, Waszyngton) i była wcześniej zgłaszana w Massachusetts. Szacuje się, że 300 000 osób żyje z chorobą Chagasa w Stanach Zjednoczonych39.

Szacunki sugerują, że większość osób zakażonych T. cruzi w USA to imigranci z innych regionów Ameryki Łacińskiej, gdzie choroba Chagasa jest endemiczna. Ponieważ migracja z Ameryki Łacińskiej do USA wzrosła w ciągu ostatnich dwóch dekad, sugeruje się, że zwiększyła się również liczba importowanych przypadków choroby Chagasa, szczególnie w południowych stanach40.

Ocena częstości występowania choroby Chagasa oparta na połączeniu informacji demograficznych z American Community Survey z szacunkami częstości występowania choroby Chagasa z różnych krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej sugeruje, że obecnie w USA jest co najmniej 300 000 osób chorych. Ważne jest, aby zauważyć, że dane te prawdopodobnie niedoszacowują rzeczywistej liczby osób żyjących z chorobą Chagasa w USA, ponieważ liczba nieudokumentowanych imigrantów z krajów endemicznych jest nieznana, a tylko siedem stanów wymienia chorobę Chagasa jako chorobę podlegającą zgłoszeniu lub zgłoszeniu do Centrów Kontroli i Zapobiegania Chorób (CDC) USA41.

W Kanadzie odnotowano tylko 2 zgłoszone przypadki trypanosomiazy amerykańskiej. Oba przypadki były związane z transfuzjami krwi42.

Metody nadzoru i wykrywania

Nadzór entomologiczno-parazytologiczny rutynowy (EPRS) jest kluczowym elementem programów kontroli choroby Chagasa. Identyfikacja domów zarażonych pluskwiakami triatomowymi w celu ukierunkowanego opryskiwania insektycydami jest kluczowa dla zapobiegania nowym przypadkom4344.

Nadzór nad chorobą Chagasa zwykle opiera się na identyfikacji zarażonych domów przy użyciu ręcznych zbiorów w określonym czasie (TMC), przeprowadzanych przez wykwalifikowany personel, z lub bez dezodoryzującego sprayu. Zbiory owadów oparte na społeczności lub zgłoszenia owadów (z lub bez dowodu zbioru) przeprowadzane przez mieszkańców domów raportowały podobne lub czasami wyższe poziomy czułości w porównaniu do TMC45.

Metody diagnostyczne i ich wyzwania

Diagnostyka choroby Chagasa jest zawsze kliniczna, epidemiologiczna i oparta na badaniach laboratoryjnych (parazytologia i serologia)46.

W nadzorze nad chorobą Chagasa rutynowo stosuje się mikroskopię optyczną (OM) do wykrywania Trypanosoma cruzi w jej wektorach. Jednakże wykrywanie T. cruzi oparte na OM prawdopodobnie nie jest w 100% czułe ani w 100% specyficzne. Dane z rutynowego nadzoru nad chorobą Chagasa zawierają zatem trzy rodzaje (obniżonych) błędów pomiarowych – zarażenie przez pluskwiaki, zakażenie wektora i ludzka choroba – wszystkie są prawie na pewno częstsze niż zgłaszane4748.

Sugeruje to, że ryzyko transmisji choroby Chagasa do ludzi jest prawie na pewno wyższe niż to, co wydawałyby się sugerować surowe dane z nadzoru49.

Badania przesiewowe krwi są niezbędne, aby zapobiec zakażeniu poprzez transfuzję, przeszczep narządów i transmisję wrodzoną oraz zwiększyć wykrywalność i opiekę nad dotkniętą populacją na całym świecie50.

Innowacyjne podejścia do nadzoru

Środowiskowy DNA (eDNA) odnosi się do materiału genetycznego pobieranego ze środowiska, a nie z samego organizmu. Ta technika może oferować nieinwazyjną, wysoce czułą alternatywę dla nadzoru, szczególnie przy niskich poziomach organizmów docelowych lub nowych inwazyjnych gatunków znajdujących się w złożonych środowiskach51.

W eksperymentach laboratoryjnych typu „proof-of-concept”, eDNA R. prolixus z pięciu nimf 3/4 stadium został pomyślnie wyizolowany i amplifikowany z kart FTA po zaledwie 15 minutach czasu kontaktu w standardowych warunkach insektarium. W próbkach terenowych, eDNA R. prolixus został wykryty z zarażonych domów z szacowaną czułością 60,6%, co jest porównywalne ze zgłoszonymi poziomami wykrywalności dla TMC, zbiorów mieszkańców i innych technik pułapkowych52.

Ta strategia nadzoru mogłaby być zintegrowana z nowo opracowanymi inicjatywami naukowymi obywatelskimi dotyczącymi choroby Chagasa. Wykrywanie eDNA nie powinno jeszcze zastępować obecnych metod, takich jak TMC, ale zamiast tego być oceniane wraz z nimi jako bardziej czuła, o wyższej przepustowości, tańsza perspektywiczna alternatywa53.

Wyzwania dla nadzoru i kontroli

Ocena obciążenia chorobą Chagasa pozostaje trudna; często bezobjawowy charakter zakażenia T. cruzi, ograniczenia w dostępie do opieki zdrowotnej, wszechobecne niedoreportowanie i inne metodologiczne przeszkody nieodłącznie związane z wiarygodnym pomiarem zachorowalności, częstości występowania i progresji choroby wszystkie przyczyniają się do trudności54.

Chociaż poczyniono znaczne postępy, nie wszystkie kraje zdołały osiągnąć proponowane cele. Pojawiły się nowe wyzwania, takie jak rozprzestrzenianie się choroby z powodu migracji osób żyjących w krajach endemicznych do krajów nieendemicznych, potrzeba zapewnienia zrównoważoności programów, konfrontacja z pojawieniem się lub ponownym pojawieniem się przypadków choroby Chagasa, odzyskanie sił po klęskach żywiołowych, rozszerzenie zasięgu diagnostyki i leczenia oraz osiągnięcie powszechnego dostępu do leczenia55.

Zmiany klimatyczne i inne czynniki wpływające na nadzór

Innym czynnikiem, który może wpływać na epidemiologię choroby Chagasa i jej dystrybucję w USA, i prawdopodobnie będzie miał bardziej znaczący wpływ w przyszłości, są zmiany klimatyczne. Wykazano, że zmiany klimatyczne mają wpływ na ryzyko narażenia na chorobę Chagasa w wielu zmiennych, w tym poprzez zmiany w opadach, temperaturze i wilgotności względnej56.

Oprócz migracji ludzi i zmian klimatycznych, inne czynniki związane z modernizacją i globalizacją są znane jako przyczyniające się do ryzyka pojawienia się i ponownego pojawienia się zaniedbanych chorób, takich jak choroba Chagasa w USA. Wzajemne oddziaływanie wszystkich tych czynników może przyczynić się do zwiększonej częstości występowania choroby Chagasa w USA, szczególnie wśród określonych populacji57.

Potrzeba edukacji i świadomości

Pomimo dostępności materiałów edukacyjnych, badanie perspektyw pacjentów i dostępu do choroby Chagasa w Stanach Zjednoczonych podkreśla niską świadomość wśród dostawców i nieistniejące kampanie edukacji zdrowotnej jako bariery dla leczenia58.

Podniesienie świadomości wśród świadczeniodawców i specjalistów w innych obszarach, takich jak medycyna weterynaryjna i zdrowie publiczne, na temat obecności choroby Chagasa w tym, co historycznie było uważane za regiony nieendemiczne, pomoże im zadawać właściwe pytania swoim pacjentom/klientom/populacjom59.

Wyniki badań ilustrują potrzebę edukacji świadczeniodawców i innych specjalistów zdrowia publicznego na temat choroby Chagasa, ponieważ jest to złożona choroba, która nie jest dobrze rozumiana w Stanach Zjednoczonych. Zwiększenie świadomości, szczególnie wśród tych dostawców na obszarach wiejskich i obsługujących populacje takie jak niedawni imigranci, jest wysokim priorytetem60.

Przyszłość nadzoru nad chorobą Chagasa

Dalsze wysokiej jakości badania i długoterminowe, adaptacyjne strategie łączące nadzór nad kontrolą wektorów z ulepszonym wykrywaniem przypadków i kompleksową opieką nad pacjentem pozostają kluczowe dla skutecznego rozwiązania etycznego i społecznego wyzwania kontroli choroby Chagasa61.

Silniejsze systemy nadzoru są i będą nadal potrzebne do monitorowania i kontroli choroby Chagasa. Kilkudziesięcioletnie doświadczenie inicjatyw, podsumowując, sugeruje praktyczną niemożliwość przerwania transmisji T. cruzi przenoszonej przez wektory w Ameryce62.

Przyszły sukces w walce z chorobą Chagasa zależy od efektywnego zarządzania nowo pojawiającymi się ogniskami zakaźnymi, utrzymania wysokiego poziomu świadomości publicznej i zainteresowania rządowego kontrolą choroby oraz ciągłego doskonalenia narzędzi diagnostycznych, terapeutycznych i nadzorczych63.

Nowe podejścia i technologie

TriatoScore to wskaźnik ryzyka entomologicznego, który wykorzystuje i rozwija informacje na temat ekologii, zachowania, dystrybucji i biogeografii poszczególnych gatunków pluskwiaków triatomowych i może pomóc menedżerom kontroli i nadzoru w ocenie, stratyfikacji, mapowaniu i monitorowaniu entomologicznego ryzyka choroby Chagasa w operacyjnie istotnych skalach64.

TriatoScore może pomóc menedżerom kontroli i nadzoru elastycznie oceniać i stratyfikować entomologiczne ryzyko choroby Chagasa w operacyjnie istotnych skalach. TriatoScore zapewnia solidny, dynamiczny i elastyczny środek do tego celu – i taki, który ponadto może być łatwo rozszerzony, aby zintegrować operacyjnie istotne informacje wykraczające poza dane wektorowe65.

Wzmocnienie systemów nadzoru międzynarodowego

Choroba Chagasa pozostaje głównym wyzwaniem dla zdrowia publicznego w Ameryce. Ponad sześć milionów osób jest zakażonych, a większość z nich stoi w obliczu znacznych barier w dostępie do podstawowej opieki zdrowotnej, w tym diagnozy i leczenia66.

Wszystkie osoby zawodowo związane ze zdrowiem, począwszy od pierwszego szczebla opieki (podstawowa opieka zdrowotna), odpowiednio przeszkolone i aktualizowane, mają kluczową rolę w zwiększaniu wykrywalności, leczenia, obserwacji i zgłaszania przypadków67.

Jednym z kroków w kierunku podniesienia profilu choroby Chagasa było ustanowienie przez WHO Światowego Dnia Choroby Chagasa w 2019 roku, co wiązało się z wezwaniem do zwiększenia inwestycji rządowych w nadzór, leczenie i przerwanie łańcuchów transmisji68.

Kolejne rozdziały

Zapraszamy do dalszego czytania naszego leksykonu.

Wybierz kolejny rozdział z menu poniżej, aby otworzyć nową podstronę kompedium wiedzy i uzyskać szczegółowe informację o leku, substancji lub chorobie.

  1. 17.04.2026
  2. www.leksykon.com.pl

Materiały źródłowe

  • #1
    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis)
    More than 7 million people worldwide, mostly in Latin America, are estimated to be infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. […] Chagas disease is found mainly in endemic areas of 21 continental Latin American countries, where transmission is largely related to the presence of the insect vector. […] Today, more than 100 million people are considered at risk of infection. […] The large number of triatomine bug species and wild animals (reservoirs) infected with T. cruzi throughout the Americas mean that the infection cannot be eradicated. Instead, the public health targets are elimination of the transmission to humans, early health-care access and life-long follow up of the infected people. […] Blood screening is necessary to prevent infection through transfusion, organ transplantation, and congenital transmission, and to increase detection and care of the affected population all over the world.
  • #2 Frontiers | Chagas Disease: From Discovery to a Worldwide Health Problem
    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00166/full
    Chagas disease (CD) is an anthropozoonosis caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, that affects about 6–8 million people worldwide and causes approximately 50,000 deaths per year. Another 65–100 million people are living in areas at risk for infection worldwide. […] In this situation, the transmission occurs mainly through blood transfusion, organ transplantation or vertical transmission from mother to child. […] The vectorial route is considered the classic mode of T. cruzi transmission and the most interesting from an epidemiological point of view, due to its direct connection to social, cultural and economic aspects of a population. […] Interestingly, the endemic area for CD highly overlaps with the distribution of most bugs from the Triatominae family. […] As there is a considerable flow of migrants from endemic to non-endemic countries, T. cruzi transmission by transfusion of contaminated blood poses a barrier to disease control.
  • #3 Chagas Disease — An Underestimated Global Public Health Challenge
    https://weekly.chinacdc.cn/en/article/doi/10.46234/ccdcw2020.093
    American trypanosomiasis, commonly called Chagas disease (CD), was prevalent once in rural areas of Latin America where poverty is widespread and was considered a silent and poorly visible disease. It has become a global neglected tropical disease and a significant public health threat worldwide due to globalization over last century. More recently, it has attracted much more attention, and April 14 has been designated as World Chagas Disease Day by the World Health Assembly of 2019 to raise awareness of the disease as a neglected tropical disease, to improve the rates of early treatment and recovery, and to achieve the ambitious goal to interrupt its transmission. […] It affects about 68 million people worldwide and causes approximately 50,000 deaths per year, and nearly 100 million people are living in areas at risk of infection worldwide. In the endemic areas of 21 Latin American countries, CD is mainly transmitted by vector triatomine bugs through the bite of the bugs (trypanosome in feces or urine to infect hosts by wound or mucous membrane), but a few other transmission routes are also possible such as oral transmission by food contaminated with triatomine bugs feces or urine.
  • #4 Chagas Disease Surveillance Activities — Seven States, 2017 | MMWR
    https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6726a2.htm
    Most of the estimated 300,000 cases of Chagas disease (caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection) in persons living in the United States were acquired in countries where the disease is endemic. […] In 2017, Chagas disease was reportable in six states. Most cases identified, including among blood donors, are chronic cases and are not the result of local vectorborne transmission. […] Chagas disease surveillance remains important in states with frequent travelers from countries where the disease is endemic and with a risk for local transmission. Surveillance activities help increase awareness among public health professionals and physicians and can help link persons with chronic Chagas disease to treatment. […] States implemented surveillance in response to blood donor screening for Chagas disease and to identify the route of disease transmission.
  • #5 Frontiers | Chagas Disease: From Discovery to a Worldwide Health Problem
    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00166/full
    In this context, CD has already been detected in non-endemic countries from North America (Canada and the U.S.), Europe (mainly Spain), and the Western Pacific Region (Australia, New Zealand, and Japan). […] Several authors estimate the number of CD cases based on the total number of immigrants received by each host country and the T. cruzi prevalence in the country of origin according to the Pan American Health Organization. […] In non-endemic countries, T. cruzi transmission may occur through blood transfusions and organ transplants from infected donors as well as congenital transmission from mother-to-child during pregnancy. […] Widespread screening of blood donations for T. cruzi infection was implemented in the U.S. in January 2007 and now covers 75–90% of the blood supply. […] The main challenges found to control and treat CD in non-endemic countries are: funding for healthcare education programs; screening programs for pregnant women and donors (blood and organs); access to healthcare for chronically infected individuals; socioeconomic factors; cultural and language barriers faced by immigrants; as well as the lack of information and trust in government programs for immigrants. […] Thus, although public health authorities worldwide and in Latin America have made efforts to control the several forms of transmission of CD, there are still many challenges for the elimination of parasites in humans and domestic and wild reservoirs.
  • #6 SciELO Brazil – Current epidemiological trends for Chagas disease in Latin America and future challenges in epidemiology, surveillance and health policy Current epidemiological trends for Chagas disease in Latin America and future challenges in epidemiol
    https://www.scielo.br/j/mioc/a/H5tnZvvMbmchMdXHDsZBBxv/?lang=en
    Chagas disease, named after Carlos Chagas, who first described it in 1909, exists only on the American Continent. […] Data on the prevalence and distribution of Chagas disease improved in quality during the 1980s as a result of the demographically representative cross-sectional studies in countries where accurate information was not previously available. […] Thanks to a coordinated multi-country programme in the Southern Cone countries, the transmission of Chagas disease by vectors and via blood transfusion was interrupted in Uruguay in 1997, in Chile in 1999 and in Brazil in 2006; thus, the incidence of new infections by T. cruzi across the South American continent has decreased by 70%. […] Similar multi-country initiatives have been launched in the Andean countries and in Central America and rapid progress has been reported towards the goal of interrupting the transmission of Chagas disease, as requested by a 1998 Resolution of the World Health Assembly.
  • #7 The epidemiology of Chagas disease in the Americas
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11519694/
    Estimates by the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO) suggest that, between the early 1990s and 2010, prevalence fell from 18 to 68 million infected people, and incidence fell from 200,000 to 40,000 new cases per year. […] While these discrepancies highlight the hurdles inherent to getting robust estimates of key epidemiological parameters and merit detailed scrutiny, steady progress in Chagas disease control is nevertheless undeniable. […] The vast majority of new infections (likely 90%) go undiagnosed, and an estimated 70% of infected individuals are unaware of their condition. […] Bridging this gap, which disproportionately affects underserved communities and social groups, is vital for reducing the burden of Chagas disease and for enhancing patient health outcomes.
  • #8 Frontiers | Chagas Disease: From Discovery to a Worldwide Health Problem
    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00166/full
    According to the World Health Organization, there are 1,124,930 women between 15 and 44 years old infected with T. cruzi in Latin America, and the overall risk of congenital T. cruzi infection in children born from infected mothers is around 5%. […] The assumption of vector controlling as the most effective method for preventing T. cruzi transmission in endemic areas motivated, in 1991, the establishment of the “Southern Cone Initiative”. […] While the prevalence of CD in Latin America has been reduced in recent decades, a dramatic increase in the number of CD cases in non-endemic countries have been observed, turning the disease into a worldwide public health concern. […] Human migrations have been indicated as the critical factor for the emergence of CD in areas where it was not previously described.
  • #9 Frontiers | Chagas Disease: From Discovery to a Worldwide Health Problem
    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00166/full
    In this context, CD has already been detected in non-endemic countries from North America (Canada and the U.S.), Europe (mainly Spain), and the Western Pacific Region (Australia, New Zealand, and Japan). […] Several authors estimate the number of CD cases based on the total number of immigrants received by each host country and the T. cruzi prevalence in the country of origin according to the Pan American Health Organization. […] In non-endemic countries, T. cruzi transmission may occur through blood transfusions and organ transplants from infected donors as well as congenital transmission from mother-to-child during pregnancy. […] Widespread screening of blood donations for T. cruzi infection was implemented in the U.S. in January 2007 and now covers 75–90% of the blood supply. […] The main challenges found to control and treat CD in non-endemic countries are: funding for healthcare education programs; screening programs for pregnant women and donors (blood and organs); access to healthcare for chronically infected individuals; socioeconomic factors; cultural and language barriers faced by immigrants; as well as the lack of information and trust in government programs for immigrants. […] Thus, although public health authorities worldwide and in Latin America have made efforts to control the several forms of transmission of CD, there are still many challenges for the elimination of parasites in humans and domestic and wild reservoirs.
  • #10 Chagas Disease | What We Do | World Heart Federation
    https://world-heart-federation.org/what-we-do/chagas-disease/
    Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a neglected tropical disease caused by a group of parasites called Trypanosoma cruzi. […] The disease continues to affect more than seven million people worldwide and is one of the most prevalent public health problems in Latin America. […] The epidemiological pattern of Chagas has also changed from a rural to a mostly urban disease, mainly due to population mobility, urbanization and emigration. […] With an estimated 75 million individuals at risk of infection, Chagas remains a profound public health issue with significant social and economic burdens in Latin America and beyond. […] Screening of blood donations for Chagas is another important public health tool to help prevent spreading the disease through blood transfusions. […] In other regions where Chagas disease is now found but is not widespread, control strategies should focus on preventing transmission from blood transfusion, organ transplantation, and mother to child. […] More support for surveillance.
  • #11 Frontiers | Chagas Disease: From Discovery to a Worldwide Health Problem
    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00166/full
    Chagas disease (CD) is an anthropozoonosis caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, that affects about 6–8 million people worldwide and causes approximately 50,000 deaths per year. Another 65–100 million people are living in areas at risk for infection worldwide. […] In this situation, the transmission occurs mainly through blood transfusion, organ transplantation or vertical transmission from mother to child. […] The vectorial route is considered the classic mode of T. cruzi transmission and the most interesting from an epidemiological point of view, due to its direct connection to social, cultural and economic aspects of a population. […] Interestingly, the endemic area for CD highly overlaps with the distribution of most bugs from the Triatominae family. […] As there is a considerable flow of migrants from endemic to non-endemic countries, T. cruzi transmission by transfusion of contaminated blood poses a barrier to disease control.
  • #12 The epidemiology of Chagas disease in the Americas
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11519694/
    Vertical (mother-to-child) transmission of T. cruzi is the leading driver of Chagas disease incidence in vector-free non-endemic countries and in Latin American cities or territories where vector- and transfusion-mediated transmission are effectively under control. […] More recently, PAHO suggested that at least 15,000 cases occur annually in Latin America. […] The factors driving this variation in vertical-transmission risk remain overall poorly understood. […] The evidence is weaker or inconclusive in the case of other putative transmission-risk drivers/modulators including characteristics of mothers, newborns, and parasites, and further research is needed to clarify their effects and relative importance. […] Crucially, mounting evidence suggests that treatment of infected childbearing-aged girls and women with specific anti-T. cruzi drugs reduces the odds of vertical transmission in subsequent pregnancies.
  • #13 The epidemiology of Chagas disease in the Americas
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11519694/
    Oral transmission of T. cruzi is much more efficient than classical (percutaneous) vector-borne transmission and may represent the ancestral transmission route. […] Foodborne T. cruzi infections are often more clinically patent, more severe, and more deadly than vector-borne infections; this has been linked to overall larger infectious loads, and may result in a particularly high per-case disease burden. […] Although prevention of foodborne Chagas disease is still an open issue, current knowledge suggests that it will require considering distinct transmission scenarios in urban vs rural settings. […] Timely diagnosis and adequate, integral care are critical to the fundamental rights to life, health, and well-being of people infected with T. cruzi, whatever their age, gender, origins, background, or means.
  • #14 Frontiers | Chagas Disease: From Discovery to a Worldwide Health Problem
    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00166/full
    Chagas disease (CD) is an anthropozoonosis caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, that affects about 6–8 million people worldwide and causes approximately 50,000 deaths per year. Another 65–100 million people are living in areas at risk for infection worldwide. […] In this situation, the transmission occurs mainly through blood transfusion, organ transplantation or vertical transmission from mother to child. […] The vectorial route is considered the classic mode of T. cruzi transmission and the most interesting from an epidemiological point of view, due to its direct connection to social, cultural and economic aspects of a population. […] Interestingly, the endemic area for CD highly overlaps with the distribution of most bugs from the Triatominae family. […] As there is a considerable flow of migrants from endemic to non-endemic countries, T. cruzi transmission by transfusion of contaminated blood poses a barrier to disease control.
  • #15 Frontiers | Chagas Disease: From Discovery to a Worldwide Health Problem
    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00166/full
    In this context, CD has already been detected in non-endemic countries from North America (Canada and the U.S.), Europe (mainly Spain), and the Western Pacific Region (Australia, New Zealand, and Japan). […] Several authors estimate the number of CD cases based on the total number of immigrants received by each host country and the T. cruzi prevalence in the country of origin according to the Pan American Health Organization. […] In non-endemic countries, T. cruzi transmission may occur through blood transfusions and organ transplants from infected donors as well as congenital transmission from mother-to-child during pregnancy. […] Widespread screening of blood donations for T. cruzi infection was implemented in the U.S. in January 2007 and now covers 75–90% of the blood supply. […] The main challenges found to control and treat CD in non-endemic countries are: funding for healthcare education programs; screening programs for pregnant women and donors (blood and organs); access to healthcare for chronically infected individuals; socioeconomic factors; cultural and language barriers faced by immigrants; as well as the lack of information and trust in government programs for immigrants. […] Thus, although public health authorities worldwide and in Latin America have made efforts to control the several forms of transmission of CD, there are still many challenges for the elimination of parasites in humans and domestic and wild reservoirs.
  • #16
    https://www.who.int/activities/implementing-an-information-and-surveillance-system-of-chagas-disease
    WHO is also focusing on a global world information and surveillance system to control Chagas disease. Surveillance is a key intervention to break the epidemiological silence (in different times and geographical spaces) of a silent and silenced disease. […] The global information and surveillance system created by WHO is an open-source system used to collect available information on Chagas disease from different sources (official documents, WHO Event Management System, medicine distribution system, and the WHO pharmacovigilance system in collaboration with the Uppsala Monitoring Centre, among others), detects possible epidemiological silences (in time and space) and facilitates: (i) access to disease statistics and dashboard elements; (ii) monitoring and guidance about the control and elimination of the disease; and (iii) verification processes to sustain the achievements.
  • #17 Chagas Disease Surveillance Activities — Seven States, 2017 | MMWR
    https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6726a2.htm
    Most of the estimated 300,000 cases of Chagas disease (caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection) in persons living in the United States were acquired in countries where the disease is endemic. […] In 2017, Chagas disease was reportable in six states. Most cases identified, including among blood donors, are chronic cases and are not the result of local vectorborne transmission. […] Chagas disease surveillance remains important in states with frequent travelers from countries where the disease is endemic and with a risk for local transmission. Surveillance activities help increase awareness among public health professionals and physicians and can help link persons with chronic Chagas disease to treatment. […] States implemented surveillance in response to blood donor screening for Chagas disease and to identify the route of disease transmission.
  • #18 Chagas Disease Surveillance Activities — Seven States, 2017 | MMWR
    https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6726a2.htm
    Surveillance remains important in states with large populations of immigrants or frequent travelers from countries with endemic disease and for states with a risk for local transmission. […] The primary focus of case investigations in Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas is identification of local autochthonous transmission, whereas Arkansas and Tennessee collect data on all modes of transmission. […] Five states disseminate surveillance data through a report distributed to health care providers, and all six states post case counts on the state health department website or as an annual disease summary. […] Surveillance efforts can also help to increase awareness among providers, identify unmet health care needs for patients, and assist in linking patients with Chagas disease to treatment to help prevent cardiac and gastrointestinal complications. […] If resources are available, surveillance for Chagas disease might be important to conduct in states with large populations at risk, including frequent travelers from countries where the disease is endemic and states at risk for local autochthonous transmission.
  • #19 Chagas Disease Surveillance Activities — Seven States, 2017 | MMWR
    https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6726a2.htm
    Surveillance remains important in states with large populations of immigrants or frequent travelers from countries with endemic disease and for states with a risk for local transmission. […] The primary focus of case investigations in Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas is identification of local autochthonous transmission, whereas Arkansas and Tennessee collect data on all modes of transmission. […] Five states disseminate surveillance data through a report distributed to health care providers, and all six states post case counts on the state health department website or as an annual disease summary. […] Surveillance efforts can also help to increase awareness among providers, identify unmet health care needs for patients, and assist in linking patients with Chagas disease to treatment to help prevent cardiac and gastrointestinal complications. […] If resources are available, surveillance for Chagas disease might be important to conduct in states with large populations at risk, including frequent travelers from countries where the disease is endemic and states at risk for local autochthonous transmission.
  • #20 Chagas Disease Surveillance Activities — Seven States, 2017 | MMWR
    https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6726a2.htm
    Surveillance remains important in states with large populations of immigrants or frequent travelers from countries with endemic disease and for states with a risk for local transmission. […] The primary focus of case investigations in Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas is identification of local autochthonous transmission, whereas Arkansas and Tennessee collect data on all modes of transmission. […] Five states disseminate surveillance data through a report distributed to health care providers, and all six states post case counts on the state health department website or as an annual disease summary. […] Surveillance efforts can also help to increase awareness among providers, identify unmet health care needs for patients, and assist in linking patients with Chagas disease to treatment to help prevent cardiac and gastrointestinal complications. […] If resources are available, surveillance for Chagas disease might be important to conduct in states with large populations at risk, including frequent travelers from countries where the disease is endemic and states at risk for local autochthonous transmission.
  • #21 The epidemiology of Chagas disease in the Americas
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11519694/
    Estimates by the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO) suggest that, between the early 1990s and 2010, prevalence fell from 18 to 68 million infected people, and incidence fell from 200,000 to 40,000 new cases per year. […] While these discrepancies highlight the hurdles inherent to getting robust estimates of key epidemiological parameters and merit detailed scrutiny, steady progress in Chagas disease control is nevertheless undeniable. […] The vast majority of new infections (likely 90%) go undiagnosed, and an estimated 70% of infected individuals are unaware of their condition. […] Bridging this gap, which disproportionately affects underserved communities and social groups, is vital for reducing the burden of Chagas disease and for enhancing patient health outcomes.
  • #22
    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis)
    All health professionals, beginning at the first level of care (primary health care), and appropriately trained and updated, have a crucial role in enhancing the detection, treatment, follow-up, and notification of cases. […] National information systems are essential to monitor the number of acute and chronic cases and the active transmission routes. However, they are only in place in 6 out of the 44 countries that have reported cases so far. […] Since the 1990s there have been successful intergovernmental initiatives in the Americas, leading to a substantial reduction in transmission and increased access to diagnosis and antiparasitic treatment for Chagas disease. […] WHO recognized Chagas disease as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) in 2005. This facilitated its greater recognition as a global public health problem and was instrumental to strengthen prevention, early diagnosis and antiparasitic treatment, comprehensive care, psychosocial follow up, as well as information, education and communication activities.
  • #23
    https://www.who.int/activities/implementing-an-information-and-surveillance-system-of-chagas-disease
    Surveillance and control programmes need to be able to adapt to the new epidemiological scenarios. […] A specific challenge WHO is faced with is strengthening national information and surveillance systems and global epidemiological surveillance and effective verification of advances in control and elimination.
  • #24 Chagas disease – PAHO/WHO | Pan American Health Organization
    https://www.paho.org/en/topics/chagas-disease
    While substantial progress has been made, not all countries have managed to achieve the goals that have been proposed. New challenges have emerged such as the spread of disease due to the migration of people living in endemic countries to non-endemic countries, the need to ensure the sustainability of programs, confronting the emergence or re-emergence of cases of Chagas disease, recovering from natural disasters, expanding coverage of diagnosis and treatment, and achieving universal access to treatment. […] These countries have managed great achievements in controlling vector-borne transmission of T. cruzi including the interruption of vector-borne transmission in 17 affected countries and the elimination of certain species of vectors, implementation of universal screening of blood donors for Chagas disease in 21 endemic countries, increased coverage, and capacities of diagnosis and treatment of congenital cases of Chagas, expanded coverage of diagnosis and access to treatment, and clinical care of people infected and sick.
  • #25
    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis)
    All health professionals, beginning at the first level of care (primary health care), and appropriately trained and updated, have a crucial role in enhancing the detection, treatment, follow-up, and notification of cases. […] National information systems are essential to monitor the number of acute and chronic cases and the active transmission routes. However, they are only in place in 6 out of the 44 countries that have reported cases so far. […] Since the 1990s there have been successful intergovernmental initiatives in the Americas, leading to a substantial reduction in transmission and increased access to diagnosis and antiparasitic treatment for Chagas disease. […] WHO recognized Chagas disease as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) in 2005. This facilitated its greater recognition as a global public health problem and was instrumental to strengthen prevention, early diagnosis and antiparasitic treatment, comprehensive care, psychosocial follow up, as well as information, education and communication activities.
  • #26
    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis)
    All health professionals, beginning at the first level of care (primary health care), and appropriately trained and updated, have a crucial role in enhancing the detection, treatment, follow-up, and notification of cases. […] National information systems are essential to monitor the number of acute and chronic cases and the active transmission routes. However, they are only in place in 6 out of the 44 countries that have reported cases so far. […] Since the 1990s there have been successful intergovernmental initiatives in the Americas, leading to a substantial reduction in transmission and increased access to diagnosis and antiparasitic treatment for Chagas disease. […] WHO recognized Chagas disease as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) in 2005. This facilitated its greater recognition as a global public health problem and was instrumental to strengthen prevention, early diagnosis and antiparasitic treatment, comprehensive care, psychosocial follow up, as well as information, education and communication activities.
  • #27
    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis)
    The NTD road map 20212030 includes Chagas disease among the conditions targeted for elimination as a public health problem and proposes five targets: verification of interruption of domiciliary vectorial transmission, verification of interruption of transfusional transmission, verification of interruption of transmission by organ transplants, verification of interruption of congenital transmission, and 75% coverage of antiparasitic treatment of the eligible population.
  • #28 SciELO Brazil – Chagas disease control-surveillance in the Americas: the multinational initiatives and the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne Trypanosoma cruzi transmission Chagas disease control-surveillance in the A
    https://www.scielo.br/j/mioc/a/FhyNZKMGxpf5TCSGgLcvCXh/
    Chagas disease (CD) still imposes a heavy burden on most Latin American countries. […] Starting in the 1990s, CD-endemic countries and the Pan American Health Organization-World Health Organization (PAHO-WHO) launched a series of multinational initiatives for CD control-surveillance. […] Stronger surveillance systems are, and will continue to be, needed to monitor and control CD. […] The decades-long experience of the initiatives, in sum, hints at the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne T. cruzi transmission in the Americas. […] The Initiative of the Central American Countries for the control of CD (IPCA in its Spanish acronym) was launched in 1997 by Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama; its stated goals were (i) to eliminate the introduced vector, Rhodnius prolixus; (ii) to reduce dwelling infestation by native Triatoma dimidiata; and (iii) to interrupt blood transfusion-mediated transmission of T. cruzi.
  • #29 SciELO Brazil – Chagas disease control-surveillance in the Americas: the multinational initiatives and the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne Trypanosoma cruzi transmission Chagas disease control-surveillance in the A
    https://www.scielo.br/j/mioc/a/FhyNZKMGxpf5TCSGgLcvCXh/
    The interruption of CD transmission by non-native R. prolixus in Mexico and Central America is, together with universal, mandatory blood-donor screening, the most important IPCAM achievement. […] The Initiative of the Andean Countries for CD control-surveillance (IPA hereafter) was officially launched in 1997 in Bogot, Colombia within the framework of the Hiplito Unanue Agreement signed by the Ministries of Health of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. […] Key IPA unmet challenges include timely diagnosis of T. cruzi infection and integral patient care. […] The progress of vector-control activities has been slow, and interventions are yet to be implemented in some geographical areas where domestic triatomine populations are known to occur. […] The Initiative for the Surveillance and Prevention of Chagas disease in Amazonia (AMCHA) was launched by the PAHO-WHO to prevent the large-scale establishment of endemic vector-borne CD in the region.
  • #30 SciELO Brazil – Chagas disease control-surveillance in the Americas: the multinational initiatives and the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne Trypanosoma cruzi transmission Chagas disease control-surveillance in the A
    https://www.scielo.br/j/mioc/a/FhyNZKMGxpf5TCSGgLcvCXh/
    The interruption of CD transmission by non-native R. prolixus in Mexico and Central America is, together with universal, mandatory blood-donor screening, the most important IPCAM achievement. […] The Initiative of the Andean Countries for CD control-surveillance (IPA hereafter) was officially launched in 1997 in Bogot, Colombia within the framework of the Hiplito Unanue Agreement signed by the Ministries of Health of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. […] Key IPA unmet challenges include timely diagnosis of T. cruzi infection and integral patient care. […] The progress of vector-control activities has been slow, and interventions are yet to be implemented in some geographical areas where domestic triatomine populations are known to occur. […] The Initiative for the Surveillance and Prevention of Chagas disease in Amazonia (AMCHA) was launched by the PAHO-WHO to prevent the large-scale establishment of endemic vector-borne CD in the region.
  • #31 SciELO Brazil – Chagas disease control-surveillance in the Americas: the multinational initiatives and the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne Trypanosoma cruzi transmission Chagas disease control-surveillance in the A
    https://www.scielo.br/j/mioc/a/FhyNZKMGxpf5TCSGgLcvCXh/
    The interruption of CD transmission by non-native R. prolixus in Mexico and Central America is, together with universal, mandatory blood-donor screening, the most important IPCAM achievement. […] The Initiative of the Andean Countries for CD control-surveillance (IPA hereafter) was officially launched in 1997 in Bogot, Colombia within the framework of the Hiplito Unanue Agreement signed by the Ministries of Health of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. […] Key IPA unmet challenges include timely diagnosis of T. cruzi infection and integral patient care. […] The progress of vector-control activities has been slow, and interventions are yet to be implemented in some geographical areas where domestic triatomine populations are known to occur. […] The Initiative for the Surveillance and Prevention of Chagas disease in Amazonia (AMCHA) was launched by the PAHO-WHO to prevent the large-scale establishment of endemic vector-borne CD in the region.
  • #32 SciELO Brazil – Chagas disease control-surveillance in the Americas: the multinational initiatives and the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne Trypanosoma cruzi transmission Chagas disease control-surveillance in the A
    https://www.scielo.br/j/mioc/a/FhyNZKMGxpf5TCSGgLcvCXh/
    PAHO-WHO-supported AMCHA activities and advocacy, together with popular-media reports on acute-disease outbreaks, started to spread awareness of CD among healthcare workers, the general public, and decision-makers. […] The Initiative of the Southern Cone Countries (INCOSUR) has played a key role in CD control in the region. […] The main challenges faced by INCOSUR countries in their efforts to bring CD under control can be summarised as follows. […] In sum, the long-term INCOSUR experience shows that although T. cruzi transmission by non-native vectors, blood transfusion, and organ transplantation can effectively be curbed, preclinical, clinical, social, and implementation research is still needed to achieve the WHO 2030 goals for CD control and prevention. […] The now vast experience of the multinational initiatives and their member countries, in sum, seems to hint at the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne T. cruzi transmission in the Americas.
  • #33 Chagas disease control-surveillance in the Americas: the multinational initiatives and the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne Trypanosoma cruzi transmission
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9261920/
    Chagas disease (CD) still imposes a heavy burden on most Latin American countries. Vector-borne and mother-to-child transmission cause several thousand new infections per year, and at least 5 million people carry Trypanosoma cruzi. Access to diagnosis and medical care, however, is far from universal. […] Starting in the 1990s, CD-endemic countries and the Pan American Health Organization-World Health Organization (PAHO-WHO) launched a series of multinational initiatives for CD control-surveillance. […] Stronger surveillance systems are, and will continue to be, needed to monitor and control CD. […] The decades-long experience of the initiatives, in sum, hints at the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne T. cruzi transmission in the Americas. […] The concept of disease control seems to provide a more realistic description of what can in effect be achieved by 2030.
  • #34 Chagas disease control-surveillance in the Americas: The multinational initiatives and the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne Trypanosoma cruzi transmission | DNDi
    https://dndi.org/scientific-articles/2022/chagas-disease-control-surveillance-in-the-americas-multinational-initiatives-and-practical-impossibility-of-interrupting-vector-borne-transmission/
    This review discusses some key themes coming out of the multinational initiatives for Chagas disease control-surveillance, launched by endemic countries and PAHO-WHO, in the context of the WHO 2030 goals for Chagas disease. […] Stronger surveillance systems continue to be needed. […] Given the decades-long experience of the initiatives, it appears that disease control, rather than interruption of vector-borne T. cruzi transmission, is a more realistic description of what can be achieved by 2030.
  • #35 Chagas disease – PAHO/WHO | Pan American Health Organization
    https://www.paho.org/en/topics/chagas-disease
    Chagas disease is considered a neglected tropical disease. It is endemic in 21 countries in the Americas, although the migration of infected people can transport the disease to non-endemic countries of America and the world. […] Chagas disease is the most prevalent communicable tropical disease in Latin America. […] Chagas diagnosis is always clinical, epidemiological and based on laboratory testing (parasitology and serology). […] Integrated vector control is the most effective method of preventing Chagas disease in Latin America, including chemical control by insecticides in infested homes, improvements in houses to prevent vector infestation, personal preventive measures such as bed nets, and informative education and communication to the community about vector-borne diseases. […] The initiatives in the Americas have helped achieve significant reductions in the number of acute cases of disease and the presence of domiciliary triatomine vectors in endemic areas.
  • #36 Chagas disease – PAHO/WHO | Pan American Health Organization
    https://www.paho.org/en/topics/chagas-disease
    Chagas disease is considered a neglected tropical disease. It is endemic in 21 countries in the Americas, although the migration of infected people can transport the disease to non-endemic countries of America and the world. […] Chagas disease is the most prevalent communicable tropical disease in Latin America. […] Chagas diagnosis is always clinical, epidemiological and based on laboratory testing (parasitology and serology). […] Integrated vector control is the most effective method of preventing Chagas disease in Latin America, including chemical control by insecticides in infested homes, improvements in houses to prevent vector infestation, personal preventive measures such as bed nets, and informative education and communication to the community about vector-borne diseases. […] The initiatives in the Americas have helped achieve significant reductions in the number of acute cases of disease and the presence of domiciliary triatomine vectors in endemic areas.
  • #37 Chagas disease – PAHO/WHO | Pan American Health Organization
    https://www.paho.org/en/topics/chagas-disease
    While substantial progress has been made, not all countries have managed to achieve the goals that have been proposed. New challenges have emerged such as the spread of disease due to the migration of people living in endemic countries to non-endemic countries, the need to ensure the sustainability of programs, confronting the emergence or re-emergence of cases of Chagas disease, recovering from natural disasters, expanding coverage of diagnosis and treatment, and achieving universal access to treatment. […] These countries have managed great achievements in controlling vector-borne transmission of T. cruzi including the interruption of vector-borne transmission in 17 affected countries and the elimination of certain species of vectors, implementation of universal screening of blood donors for Chagas disease in 21 endemic countries, increased coverage, and capacities of diagnosis and treatment of congenital cases of Chagas, expanded coverage of diagnosis and access to treatment, and clinical care of people infected and sick.
  • #38 Chagas Disease Surveillance Activities — Seven States, 2017 | MMWR
    https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6726a2.htm
    Most of the estimated 300,000 cases of Chagas disease (caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection) in persons living in the United States were acquired in countries where the disease is endemic. […] In 2017, Chagas disease was reportable in six states. Most cases identified, including among blood donors, are chronic cases and are not the result of local vectorborne transmission. […] Chagas disease surveillance remains important in states with frequent travelers from countries where the disease is endemic and with a risk for local transmission. Surveillance activities help increase awareness among public health professionals and physicians and can help link persons with chronic Chagas disease to treatment. […] States implemented surveillance in response to blood donor screening for Chagas disease and to identify the route of disease transmission.
  • #39 Chagas Disease
    https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/community_epidemiology/dc/chagasdisease.html
    Chagas disease is endemic in 21 countries across Latin America, mainly in rural areas, but due to population movements from rural to urban areas, the geographic distribution has changed. […] Chagas disease is a reportable disease in 8 U.S. states (Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Utah, Washington), and was previously reportable in Massachusetts. […] It is estimated that 300,000 individuals are living with Chagas disease in the United States. […] Chagas disease is diagnosed using blood tests. […] For information specific to healthcare providers about diagnosing Chagas disease, please visit Chagas Information for Healthcare Professionals. […] Treatment for Chagas disease can be life-saving and occur in either the acute or chronic phase. […] Currently, there is no vaccine, or drugs, available to prevent Chagas disease spread. […] If you plan on traveling to Chagas endemic areas, it is important to take the following precautions: […] For information specific to healthcare providers about treating Chagas disease, please visit Chagas Information for Healthcare Professionals.
  • #40
    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40475-022-00264-7
    Estimates suggest that the majority of T. cruzi-infected individuals in the US are immigrants from other Chagas-endemic regions of Latin America. […] As Latin American migration to the US has increased over the past two decades, it is suggested that so have the number of imported Chagas disease cases, especially in southern states. […] An assessment on the prevalence of Chagas disease based on combining demographic information from the American Community Survey with Chagas disease prevalence estimates from different Latin American countries suggested that currently there are at least 300,000 people with the disease in the US. […] It is important to note that these data likely underestimate the true number of individuals in the US living with Chagas disease, since the number of undocumented immigrants from endemic countries is unknown, and only seven states list Chagas disease as a reportable or notifiable condition to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  • #41
    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40475-022-00264-7
    Estimates suggest that the majority of T. cruzi-infected individuals in the US are immigrants from other Chagas-endemic regions of Latin America. […] As Latin American migration to the US has increased over the past two decades, it is suggested that so have the number of imported Chagas disease cases, especially in southern states. […] An assessment on the prevalence of Chagas disease based on combining demographic information from the American Community Survey with Chagas disease prevalence estimates from different Latin American countries suggested that currently there are at least 300,000 people with the disease in the US. […] It is important to note that these data likely underestimate the true number of individuals in the US living with Chagas disease, since the number of undocumented immigrants from endemic countries is unknown, and only seven states list Chagas disease as a reportable or notifiable condition to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  • #42 Surveillance of Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) – Canada.ca
    https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/chagas-disease-american-trypanosomiasis/surveillance-chagas-disease-american-trypanosomiasis.html
    In Canada, there have only been 2 reported cases of American trypanosomiasis. Both cases were related to blood transfusions. […] American trypanosomiasis has an annual incidence of about 28,000 cases in the Americas. Per year, it affects about 6 to 8 million people and causes, on average, about 12,000 deaths. […] An estimated 65 million people in the Americas live in areas where they could be exposed to infected triatomine bugs and are at risk of contracting this disease.
  • #43 Surveillance of vector-borne pathogens under imperfect detection: lessons from Chagas disease risk (mis)measurement | Scientific Reports
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-18532-2
    Vector-borne pathogens threaten human health worldwide. […] In Chagas disease surveillance, optical microscopy (OM) is routinely used for detecting Trypanosoma cruzi in its vectors. […] We conclude that the risk of vector-borne Chagas disease may be substantially higher than routine surveillance data suggest. […] Surveillance of pathogen presence in vectors allows epidemiologists to track variations of disease transmission risk in time and space. […] To correctly interpret surveillance data, however, health officials need to understand how the tests used to ascertain vector infection actually perform. […] The parasite is primarily transmitted by blood-sucking bugs known as triatomines, and entomological-parasitological routine surveillance (EPRS hereafter) is therefore a key component of Chagas disease control programs.
  • #44 Towards environmental detection of Chagas disease vectors and pathogen | Scientific Reports
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14051-x
    Chagas disease vector control relies on prompt, accurate identification of houses infested with triatomine bugs for targeted insecticide spraying. […] Accurate detection of triatomine-infested houses and residual insecticide spraying of domestic and peri-domestic structures are crucial to prevent new cases. […] Chagas disease vector surveillance typically relies on identification of infested houses using timed-manual collections (TMCs), conducted by skilled personnel, with or without a dislodging spray. […] Community-based bug collections or bug notifications (with or without proof of collection) performed by householders have reported similar or sometimes superior levels of sensitivity to TMCs. […] Environmental DNA (eDNA) refers to genetic material sampled from the environment rather than the organism itself.
  • #45 Towards environmental detection of Chagas disease vectors and pathogen | Scientific Reports
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14051-x
    Chagas disease vector control relies on prompt, accurate identification of houses infested with triatomine bugs for targeted insecticide spraying. […] Accurate detection of triatomine-infested houses and residual insecticide spraying of domestic and peri-domestic structures are crucial to prevent new cases. […] Chagas disease vector surveillance typically relies on identification of infested houses using timed-manual collections (TMCs), conducted by skilled personnel, with or without a dislodging spray. […] Community-based bug collections or bug notifications (with or without proof of collection) performed by householders have reported similar or sometimes superior levels of sensitivity to TMCs. […] Environmental DNA (eDNA) refers to genetic material sampled from the environment rather than the organism itself.
  • #46 Chagas disease – PAHO/WHO | Pan American Health Organization
    https://www.paho.org/en/topics/chagas-disease
    Chagas disease is considered a neglected tropical disease. It is endemic in 21 countries in the Americas, although the migration of infected people can transport the disease to non-endemic countries of America and the world. […] Chagas disease is the most prevalent communicable tropical disease in Latin America. […] Chagas diagnosis is always clinical, epidemiological and based on laboratory testing (parasitology and serology). […] Integrated vector control is the most effective method of preventing Chagas disease in Latin America, including chemical control by insecticides in infested homes, improvements in houses to prevent vector infestation, personal preventive measures such as bed nets, and informative education and communication to the community about vector-borne diseases. […] The initiatives in the Americas have helped achieve significant reductions in the number of acute cases of disease and the presence of domiciliary triatomine vectors in endemic areas.
  • #47 Surveillance of vector-borne pathogens under imperfect detection: lessons from Chagas disease risk (mis)measurement | Scientific Reports
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-18532-2
    Vector-borne pathogens threaten human health worldwide. […] In Chagas disease surveillance, optical microscopy (OM) is routinely used for detecting Trypanosoma cruzi in its vectors. […] We conclude that the risk of vector-borne Chagas disease may be substantially higher than routine surveillance data suggest. […] Surveillance of pathogen presence in vectors allows epidemiologists to track variations of disease transmission risk in time and space. […] To correctly interpret surveillance data, however, health officials need to understand how the tests used to ascertain vector infection actually perform. […] The parasite is primarily transmitted by blood-sucking bugs known as triatomines, and entomological-parasitological routine surveillance (EPRS hereafter) is therefore a key component of Chagas disease control programs.
  • #48 Surveillance of vector-borne pathogens under imperfect detection: lessons from Chagas disease risk (mis)measurement | Scientific Reports
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-18532-2
    OM-based detection of T. cruzi, however, is unlikely to be 100% sensitive or 100% specific. […] Chagas disease routine surveillance data therefore contain three types of (downward) measurement error infestation by triatomines, vector infection, and human disease all are almost surely more frequent than reported. […] This suggests that the risk of Chagas disease transmission to humans is almost surely higher than what crude surveillance data would seem to imply.
  • #49 Surveillance of vector-borne pathogens under imperfect detection: lessons from Chagas disease risk (mis)measurement | Scientific Reports
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-18532-2
    OM-based detection of T. cruzi, however, is unlikely to be 100% sensitive or 100% specific. […] Chagas disease routine surveillance data therefore contain three types of (downward) measurement error infestation by triatomines, vector infection, and human disease all are almost surely more frequent than reported. […] This suggests that the risk of Chagas disease transmission to humans is almost surely higher than what crude surveillance data would seem to imply.
  • #50
    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis)
    More than 7 million people worldwide, mostly in Latin America, are estimated to be infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. […] Chagas disease is found mainly in endemic areas of 21 continental Latin American countries, where transmission is largely related to the presence of the insect vector. […] Today, more than 100 million people are considered at risk of infection. […] The large number of triatomine bug species and wild animals (reservoirs) infected with T. cruzi throughout the Americas mean that the infection cannot be eradicated. Instead, the public health targets are elimination of the transmission to humans, early health-care access and life-long follow up of the infected people. […] Blood screening is necessary to prevent infection through transfusion, organ transplantation, and congenital transmission, and to increase detection and care of the affected population all over the world.
  • #51 Towards environmental detection of Chagas disease vectors and pathogen | Scientific Reports
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14051-x
    Chagas disease vector control relies on prompt, accurate identification of houses infested with triatomine bugs for targeted insecticide spraying. […] Accurate detection of triatomine-infested houses and residual insecticide spraying of domestic and peri-domestic structures are crucial to prevent new cases. […] Chagas disease vector surveillance typically relies on identification of infested houses using timed-manual collections (TMCs), conducted by skilled personnel, with or without a dislodging spray. […] Community-based bug collections or bug notifications (with or without proof of collection) performed by householders have reported similar or sometimes superior levels of sensitivity to TMCs. […] Environmental DNA (eDNA) refers to genetic material sampled from the environment rather than the organism itself.
  • #52 Towards environmental detection of Chagas disease vectors and pathogen | Scientific Reports
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14051-x
    This technique can offer a non-invasive, highly sensitive alternative for surveillance, particularly of low levels of target organisms or new invasive species found in complex environments. […] In the proof-of-concept laboratory experiments, R. prolixus eDNA from five 3rd/4th instar nymphs was successfully isolated and amplified from FTA cards after as little as 15 min of contact time under standard insectary conditions. […] In the field specimens, R. prolixus eDNA was detected from infested houses with an estimated sensitivity of 60.6% which is comparable with reported detection levels for TMCs, householder collections and other trapping techniques. […] Findings from this study provide insights into the feasibility of using FTA cards or cotton-tipped swabs for community-level surveillance.
  • #53 Towards environmental detection of Chagas disease vectors and pathogen | Scientific Reports
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14051-x
    This surveillance strategy could be integrated into newly developed citizen science initiatives for Chagas disease. […] Study findings demonstrated that R. prolixus eDNA, collected on FTA cards, can be detected at temperatures between 21 and 32 C, when deposited by individual, recently blood-fed 3rd/4th instar nymphs. […] eDNA detection should not yet supplant current methods such as TMCs, but instead be evaluated alongside them as a more sensitive, higher-throughput, lower cost prospective alternative.
  • #54 The epidemiology of Chagas disease in the Americas
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11519694/
    Chagas disease is a complex parasitic zoonosis that still threatens public health across the Americas. […] Assessing Chagas disease burden remains difficult; the often-asymptomatic nature of T. cruzi infection, healthcare access limitations, pervasive underreporting, and other methodological hurdles inherent to reliably measuring incidence, prevalence, and disease progression all contribute to the difficulty. […] Continued high-quality research and long-term, adaptive strategies combining vector control surveillance with enhanced case detection and integral patient care remain critical to effectively address the ethical and societal challenge of Chagas disease control. […] Despite the large reductions in transmission by house-infesting vectors, Chagas disease remains endemic across continental Latin America, with about 75 million people living at risk of infection.
  • #55 Chagas disease – PAHO/WHO | Pan American Health Organization
    https://www.paho.org/en/topics/chagas-disease
    While substantial progress has been made, not all countries have managed to achieve the goals that have been proposed. New challenges have emerged such as the spread of disease due to the migration of people living in endemic countries to non-endemic countries, the need to ensure the sustainability of programs, confronting the emergence or re-emergence of cases of Chagas disease, recovering from natural disasters, expanding coverage of diagnosis and treatment, and achieving universal access to treatment. […] These countries have managed great achievements in controlling vector-borne transmission of T. cruzi including the interruption of vector-borne transmission in 17 affected countries and the elimination of certain species of vectors, implementation of universal screening of blood donors for Chagas disease in 21 endemic countries, increased coverage, and capacities of diagnosis and treatment of congenital cases of Chagas, expanded coverage of diagnosis and access to treatment, and clinical care of people infected and sick.
  • #56
    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40475-022-00264-7
    Another factor that may be impacting Chagas disease epidemiology and distribution in the US, and will likely have a more profound future effect, is climate change. […] Climate change has been shown to have an effect on Chagas disease exposure risk across a number of variables, including via changes to precipitation, temperature, and relative humidity. […] In addition to human migration and climate change, other factors related to modernization and globalization are known to contribute to the risk of emergence and re-emergence of neglected diseases such as Chagas disease in the US. […] The interplay between all of these factors may contribute to increased prevalence of Chagas disease in the US, especially among specific populations. […] No national screening program exists for Chagas disease in the US, nor is there active surveillance for the disease does.
  • #57
    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40475-022-00264-7
    Another factor that may be impacting Chagas disease epidemiology and distribution in the US, and will likely have a more profound future effect, is climate change. […] Climate change has been shown to have an effect on Chagas disease exposure risk across a number of variables, including via changes to precipitation, temperature, and relative humidity. […] In addition to human migration and climate change, other factors related to modernization and globalization are known to contribute to the risk of emergence and re-emergence of neglected diseases such as Chagas disease in the US. […] The interplay between all of these factors may contribute to increased prevalence of Chagas disease in the US, especially among specific populations. […] No national screening program exists for Chagas disease in the US, nor is there active surveillance for the disease does.
  • #58 Assessing the effectiveness of Chagas disease education for healthcare providers in the United States | BMC Infectious Diseases | Full Text
    https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-020-05474-w
    As of 2017, only six states participate in surveillance and reporting of Chagas disease. […] Despite the availability of educational materials, a study on patient perspectives and access to Chagas disease in the United States emphasizes low awareness among providers and nonexistent health education campaigns as barriers to treatment. […] The purpose of this paper is to analyze the efficacy of an online education program for health professionals in raising awareness of Chagas disease and to determine key focus areas for improving knowledge on this complex disease. […] Raising the awareness of healthcare providers and professionals in other areas such as veterinary medicine and public health of the presence of Chagas disease in what has historically been considered non-endemic regions will aid them in asking the right questions of their patients/clients/populations.
  • #59 Assessing the effectiveness of Chagas disease education for healthcare providers in the United States | BMC Infectious Diseases | Full Text
    https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-020-05474-w
    As of 2017, only six states participate in surveillance and reporting of Chagas disease. […] Despite the availability of educational materials, a study on patient perspectives and access to Chagas disease in the United States emphasizes low awareness among providers and nonexistent health education campaigns as barriers to treatment. […] The purpose of this paper is to analyze the efficacy of an online education program for health professionals in raising awareness of Chagas disease and to determine key focus areas for improving knowledge on this complex disease. […] Raising the awareness of healthcare providers and professionals in other areas such as veterinary medicine and public health of the presence of Chagas disease in what has historically been considered non-endemic regions will aid them in asking the right questions of their patients/clients/populations.
  • #60 Assessing the effectiveness of Chagas disease education for healthcare providers in the United States | BMC Infectious Diseases | Full Text
    https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-020-05474-w
    These findings illustrate the need to educate healthcare providers and other public health professionals on Chagas disease, as it is a complex disease that is not well understood in the United States. Increasing awareness, especially among those providers in rural areas and serving populations such as recent immigrants is a high priority.
  • #61 The epidemiology of Chagas disease in the Americas
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11519694/
    Chagas disease is a complex parasitic zoonosis that still threatens public health across the Americas. […] Assessing Chagas disease burden remains difficult; the often-asymptomatic nature of T. cruzi infection, healthcare access limitations, pervasive underreporting, and other methodological hurdles inherent to reliably measuring incidence, prevalence, and disease progression all contribute to the difficulty. […] Continued high-quality research and long-term, adaptive strategies combining vector control surveillance with enhanced case detection and integral patient care remain critical to effectively address the ethical and societal challenge of Chagas disease control. […] Despite the large reductions in transmission by house-infesting vectors, Chagas disease remains endemic across continental Latin America, with about 75 million people living at risk of infection.
  • #62 Chagas disease control-surveillance in the Americas: the multinational initiatives and the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne Trypanosoma cruzi transmission
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9261920/
    Chagas disease (CD) still imposes a heavy burden on most Latin American countries. Vector-borne and mother-to-child transmission cause several thousand new infections per year, and at least 5 million people carry Trypanosoma cruzi. Access to diagnosis and medical care, however, is far from universal. […] Starting in the 1990s, CD-endemic countries and the Pan American Health Organization-World Health Organization (PAHO-WHO) launched a series of multinational initiatives for CD control-surveillance. […] Stronger surveillance systems are, and will continue to be, needed to monitor and control CD. […] The decades-long experience of the initiatives, in sum, hints at the practical impossibility of interrupting vector-borne T. cruzi transmission in the Americas. […] The concept of disease control seems to provide a more realistic description of what can in effect be achieved by 2030.
  • #63 Fighting Strategies Against Chagas’ Disease: A Review
    https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/2/183
    It has also been essential to develop sustainable vector control strategies based on improved risk assessment of infection and disease or to improve surveillance programs in all endemic regions. […] The future success of the fight against Chagas disease depends on efficient management of newly emerging infectious foci, maintenance of high levels of public awareness and governmental interest in controlling the disease, and continuous improvements in diagnostic, therapeutic and surveillance tools. […] The objective of this review is to describe the current status of strategies to control Chagas disease and highlight new research topics to reduce the burden of this public health problem.
  • #64 TriatoScore: an entomological-risk score for Chagas disease vector control-surveillance | Parasites & Vectors | Full Text
    https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-021-04954-5
    In the current context of decentralized health systems across Latin America, Chagas disease vector control-surveillance decisions are increasingly made at the local level. […] Here, we present an entomological-risk score (TriatoScore) that leverages and builds upon information on the ecology, behavior, distribution, and biogeography of individual triatomine bug species and can help control-surveillance managers to assess, stratify, map, and monitor Chagas disease entomological risk at operationally relevant scales. […] TriatoScore can help control-surveillance managers to flexibly assess and stratify the entomological risk of Chagas disease at operationally relevant scales. […] TriatoScore provides a sound, dynamic, and flexible means to this endand one that, moreover, can be easily extended to integrate operationally relevant information beyond vector data.
  • #65 TriatoScore: an entomological-risk score for Chagas disease vector control-surveillance | Parasites & Vectors | Full Text
    https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-021-04954-5
    In the current context of decentralized health systems across Latin America, Chagas disease vector control-surveillance decisions are increasingly made at the local level. […] Here, we present an entomological-risk score (TriatoScore) that leverages and builds upon information on the ecology, behavior, distribution, and biogeography of individual triatomine bug species and can help control-surveillance managers to assess, stratify, map, and monitor Chagas disease entomological risk at operationally relevant scales. […] TriatoScore can help control-surveillance managers to flexibly assess and stratify the entomological risk of Chagas disease at operationally relevant scales. […] TriatoScore provides a sound, dynamic, and flexible means to this endand one that, moreover, can be easily extended to integrate operationally relevant information beyond vector data.
  • #66 The epidemiology of Chagas disease in the Americas
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11519694/
    The diagnosis of Chagas disease is challenging. […] Treatment of Chagas disease involves not only the use of specific anti-T. cruzi drugs, but also the treatment and management of chronic heart and digestive disease and their complications. […] Importantly, timely anti-T. cruzi treatment can prevent the evolution of asymptomatic or mild infections towards the chronic symptomatic forms of Chagas disease, which can be highly debilitating and impose a heavy burden on patients and society. […] Chagas disease remains a major public health challenge in the Americas. Over six million people are infected, and most of them face substantial barriers to accessing essential healthcare, including diagnosis and treatment.
  • #67
    https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis)
    All health professionals, beginning at the first level of care (primary health care), and appropriately trained and updated, have a crucial role in enhancing the detection, treatment, follow-up, and notification of cases. […] National information systems are essential to monitor the number of acute and chronic cases and the active transmission routes. However, they are only in place in 6 out of the 44 countries that have reported cases so far. […] Since the 1990s there have been successful intergovernmental initiatives in the Americas, leading to a substantial reduction in transmission and increased access to diagnosis and antiparasitic treatment for Chagas disease. […] WHO recognized Chagas disease as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) in 2005. This facilitated its greater recognition as a global public health problem and was instrumental to strengthen prevention, early diagnosis and antiparasitic treatment, comprehensive care, psychosocial follow up, as well as information, education and communication activities.
  • #68 Chagas: The Most Neglected of Neglected Tropical Diseases | Johns Hopkins | Bloomberg School of Public Health
    https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/chagas-the-most-neglected-of-neglected-tropical-diseases
    The disease is treatable if caught early, but on-the-ground surveillance is thin. […] Yet global Chagas surveillance is patchy at best, meaning a similar fate awaits thousands of children infected every year in utero or while growing up in the poor, rural areas where the vector thrives. […] Chronic underfunding for research has hobbled efforts to improve surveillance and vector control and to update archaic diagnostics and treatment. […] But U.S. Chagas surveillance remains thin and has been further back-burnered by the pandemic. […] one step toward raising Chagas profile was WHOs establishment of World Chagas Day in 2019, which came with a call for stepped-up government investment in surveillance, treatment, and breaking chains of transmission.