World Chagas Disease Day: Raising Awareness for a Silent Killer

Every April 14, the world observes World Chagas Disease Day. Yet this disease remains unknown to most people despite infecting nearly 7 million and killing 10,000 every year.

photo credit: PACE Hospitals

Approved by the World Health Assembly in May 2019 and first observed on April 14, 2020, World Chagas Disease Day was created to shine a light on one of the most neglected tropical diseases on the planet. Seven years later, the disease remains silent and most of the world remains unaware.

Chagas disease is caused by a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi. It is transmitted primarily by triatomine bugs nicknamed « kissing bugs » that live in the cracks of poorly constructed homes in rural Latin America. The bug bites a sleeping person, then defecates. The person unknowingly scratches the excrement into the bite wound, or into their eyes or mouth. The parasite enters. And then nothing. Not immediately.

That is why Chagas is called the « silent and quiet illness. » In its acute phase, most people have no symptoms. Some feel mild fever or fatigue. Then life continues normally for years, sometimes decades. But for about 30% of infected people, the parasite eventually attacks the heart or digestive system. The result can be fatal cardiomyopathy an enlarged, weakened heart or severe damage to the esophagus and colon. By the time symptoms appear, the damage is often irreversible.

Every year, Chagas disease affects between 6 and 7 million people globally. It kills an estimated 10,000 people annually. There is no vaccine. Existing medications are difficult to tolerate, less effective in the chronic phase, and often inaccessible where they are most needed.

This year’s theme is :Women at the heart: protecting the next generation from Chagas disease. The focus is on mother-to-child transmission. A pregnant woman infected with Chagas can pass the parasite to her baby during pregnancy or childbirth. But with proper screening during prenatal care, infected pregnant women can be treated. Newborns can be tested and managed from day one. The theme calls for integrating gender-sensitive care into national Chagas control programs.

Chagas no longer stays in Latin America. The United States, Canada, Spain, Italy, Japan, and Australia have all seen rising cases. Migrants carry the parasite unknowingly. Blood supplies and organ donations have been contaminated. What was regional is now global.

Every April 14, World Chagas Disease Day is celebrated. But celebration is not the right word. It is not a party. It is a reminder. A spotlight. A small but necessary push against indifference.

Message from Dr Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, Director General, WHO.

https://www.pacehospital.com/world-chagas-disease-day