Acute Vector-Borne Chagas Disease

Abstract

It has been estimated that there are between six and seven million people in the world infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease, most of them in Latin America. The vector-borne transmission is produced through insects of the subfamily Triatominae carrying the parasite. The most important species in the Southern Cone of the Americas is Triatoma infestans. Currently, this route of infection is observed in the Americas. The treatment produces the cure if the infection is recent. During the chronic phase of the disease, an antiparasitic treatment can slow down or prevent the progression of the disease. The most useful method to prevent Chagas disease in Latin America is the control of the vector insects.