Schistosomiasis in America

Abstract

In 1909, the Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas described a new pathogen—Trypanosoma cruzi—and an entirely new disease to the scientific com- munity that was subsequently shown to cause serious cardiac and gastrointestinal problems. Far from being a rare nosological entity, Chagas disease was later found to affect millions of people across Latin America. The analysis of South American mummies in paleoparasitological studies indicated, however, that Chagas disease affected humans at least 9,000 years ago. Within a few years, Carlos Chagas and some of his close collaborators—including Gaspar Vianna, Belisa ´rio Penna, Eurico Villela, and Ezequiel Dias—described the main anatomopathological and clinical aspects of the disease in its acute and chronic phases. Despite the undeniable success and singularity of these preliminary investigations, Chagas disease was neglected by the medical and scientific community for long periods of the twentieth century. The diagnosis, clinical manifestations, and prognosis, as well as the significant gaps in the understanding of the pathogenesis of cardiovascular involve- ment, and in the management of the disease, will be discussed in this chapter.