NEWS

World Chagas Day is observed annually on the 14th of April

DETAILS

• The 72nd World Health Assembly, 2019 approved the designation of Chagas Disease
• Called silent because it progresses slowly, and silenced because it mainly affects the poor people who often lack political voice and proper health care
• Got its name from Dr Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas, who diagnosed the first patient with the disease in Brazil on April 14, 1909
• Classified as a neglected tropical disease (NTD)
• Affects the low-income populations in developing countries across the globe
• Also called the American trypanosomiasis, this vector-borne disease hits the most poverty-stricken communities, especially in Latin America
• A parasitic protozoan called Trypanosoma cruzi that causes this vector-borne disease is usually transmitted by faeces and urine of triatomine bugs or kissing bugs, which belongs to the family of assassin bugs
• Can also be transmitted by contaminated food, organ transplantations, blood or blood products transfusion, and infected mothers to newborn
• Lack of awareness and neglecting the symptoms, especially among poor households, results in much severe symptoms and even death.
• Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, headache, difficulty in breathing, abdominal or chest pain and enlarged lymph glands.