Current situation of Chagas disease in non-endemic countries.

Editor's Abstract:

Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is caused by the parasitic protist Trypanosoma cruzi. 10 million people are estimated to live with this disease. Chagas disease is endemic to the Americas, which corresponds to the distribution of the insect vectors, blood-sucking triatomine bugs. The presence of many mammalian species as reservoir hosts and the occurrence of a long asymptomatic phase of infection that may last more than 10 years make control difficult. In the United States, domestic transmissions from triatomines to humans are rarely reported, but it is estimated that there are 300,000 people living with Chagas disease among Latin American immigrants. Patients with Chagas disease are also found outside the Americas, as well as in Japan, via international migration. Thus, there is a growing need to understand the current situation in non-endemic countries in terms of establishing better preparedness against the incursion of Chagas disease.