Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is an infectious disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (T.cruzi). This parasite usually has as its intermediate host an insect popularly known as a barber and that during the bite defecates or urine, releasing the parasite; after the bite, the person’s normal reaction is to scratch the stain, but this allows T.cruzi to enter the body and develop the disease.
Trypanosoma cruzi infection can lead to several complications to a person’s health, such as heart disease and digestive system disorders, for example, due to disease chronicity.
- The barber has a nocturnal habit and feeds exclusively on the blood of vertebrate animals.
- This insect is usually found in cracks of wooden houses.
- Beds.
- Mattresses.
- Deposits.
- Bird’s nests.
- Tree trunks.
- Among others.
- And has preference for places near its food source.
Chagas disease can be classified into two main phases, the acute phase and the chronic phase.In the acute phase, there are usually no symptoms, this corresponds to the period during which the parasite multiplies and spreads in the bloodstream through the body.However, in some people, especially in children due to a weaker immune system, some symptoms may be noticed, the main ones being:
The chronic phase of Chagas disease corresponds to the development of the parasite in the organs, mainly the heart and digestive system, and may not cause symptoms for years; when they appear, symptoms are severe and there may be an enlarged heart, called hypermegaly., heart failure, megacolon and megaesophagus, for example, in addition to the possibility of enlargement of the liver and spleen.
Symptoms of Chagas disease usually appear 7 to 14 days after infection with the parasite, but when contagion occurs from the consumption of infected foods, symptoms may appear 3 to 22 days after infection.
The diagnosis of Chagas disease is made by the doctor based on the stage of the disease, clinical and epidemiological data, such as where you live or visited and your eating habits and the symptoms you present, the laboratory diagnosis is made using techniques that allow the identification of T.crossed in the blood, in the form of thick droplet and blood stains colored by Giemsa.
Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which has the barber insect as an intermediate host, this insect, as soon as it feeds on blood, has a habit of defecating and urinating immediately afterwards, releasing the parasite and when the person bites., this parasite manages to enter the body and reach the bloodstream, this is the main form of transmission.Disease.
Another form of transmission is the consumption of food contaminated by the hairdresser or his faeces, such as sugar cane juice or aca.The disease can also be transmitted by transfusion of contaminated blood, or congenitally, i.e. from mother to child during pregnancy or childbirth..
Rhodnius prolixus is also a dangerous vector of the disease, especially in areas near the Amazon rainforest.
The life cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi begins when the parasite enters the person’s bloodstream and invades the cells, becoming a amastigote, which is the stage of development and multiplication of this parasite.The amastigotes can continue to invade the cells and multiply, but they can also become tripomastigotes, destroy cells and circulate in the blood.
A new cycle can begin when the hairdresser bites an infected person and acquires this parasite, the tripomastigotes in the hairdresser become epimastigotes, multiply and become tripomastigotes, which are released into the droppings of this insect.
Treatment of Chagas disease may initially be done with the use of medications for about 1 month, which can cure the disease or prevent its complications while the parasite is still in the person’s blood.
But some individuals fail to cure the disease, because the parasite comes out of the blood and begins to inhabit the tissues that form the organs and, for this reason, becomes chronic, attacking the heart and nervous system slowly, but gradually.treatment of Chagas disease.
A recent study found that a drug used to fight malaria had effects on Trypanosoma cruzi, preventing this parasite from leaving the hairdresser’s digestive system and contaminating people, and it was verified that the eggs of infected female hairdressers were not contaminated with T.cruzi and they were beginning to lay fewer eggs.
Despite the positive results, this drug is not indicated for the treatment of Chagas disease, since due to its effect very high doses are needed, which is toxic to humans, for example, researchers look for drugs with an identical or similar mechanism of action that, at concentrations that are not toxic to the body , have the same effect.