‘Silent’ Chagas disease killing newborns

The 'assassin' bug Copyright: WHO/TDR/Stammers

By: Valeria Román

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>‘Silent’ Chagas disease killing newborns</h1>
<h4>By: Valeria Román</h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p>[BUENOS AIRES] For every newborn detected with Chagas disease in Argentina, another six to twelve cases are not even diagnosed, with potentially fatal consequences, according to researchers there. <BR><BR>Chagas disease — caused by the parasite <em>Trypanosoma cruzi</em> — affects around 17 million people worldwide. Transmission of the disease is generally associated with a blood-sucking insect known as the ‘assassin bug’, which lives in cracks and crevices of poor-quality houses, particularly in rural areas.<BR><BR>But while the number of vector-transmitted infections is now under control in Argentina — for example through insecticide spraying, housing improvement and education — ‘vertical’ (i.e. mother-to-child) transmission is becoming an even greater threat, according to a study published last month in the journal <em>Emerging Infectious Diseases</em>. <BR><BR>“The congenital transmission of [Chagas] appears to be a sizeable public health problem in Argentina, where it has already surpassed the number of vector-mediated acute cases by a factor of ten,” say the study’s authors. <BR><BR>Cases of newborns with Chagas disease can remain undetected because the infection has a period in which no symptoms are present. <BR><BR>“A lot of pregnant women cannot access prenatal diagnosis because they live in rural areas, or the maternity hospitals do not have the facilities to diagnose Chagas disease,” explains lead author Ricardo Gürtler, a researcher at the University of Buenos Aires.<BR><BR>And although vertical transmission is not preventable, early detection and treatment of congenital infection can achieve cure rates close to 100 per cent. <BR><BR>The authors call for improved diagnosis of pregnant women, treatment of infected newborns, and greater awareness of the problem among medical practitioners.<BR><BR><B>Related external links:</B><BR><BR><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no1/02-0274.htm" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Congenital Transmission of <em>Trypanosoma cruzi</em> Infection in Argentina</A> <BR><a href="http://www.who.int/ctd/chagas/" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Health Organisation: Chagas disease </A></p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/news/silent-chagas-disease-killing-newborns/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/global/news/silent-chagas-disease-killing-newborns/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

[BUENOS AIRES] For every newborn detected with Chagas disease in Argentina, another six to twelve cases are not even diagnosed, with potentially fatal consequences, according to researchers there.

Chagas disease — caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi — affects around 17 million people worldwide. Transmission of the disease is generally associated with a blood-sucking insect known as the ‘assassin bug’, which lives in cracks and crevices of poor-quality houses, particularly in rural areas.

But while the number of vector-transmitted infections is now under control in Argentina — for example through insecticide spraying, housing improvement and education — ‘vertical’ (i.e. mother-to-child) transmission is becoming an even greater threat, according to a study published last month in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“The congenital transmission of [Chagas] appears to be a sizeable public health problem in Argentina, where it has already surpassed the number of vector-mediated acute cases by a factor of ten,” say the study’s authors.

Cases of newborns with Chagas disease can remain undetected because the infection has a period in which no symptoms are present.

“A lot of pregnant women cannot access prenatal diagnosis because they live in rural areas, or the maternity hospitals do not have the facilities to diagnose Chagas disease,” explains lead author Ricardo Gürtler, a researcher at the University of Buenos Aires.

And although vertical transmission is not preventable, early detection and treatment of congenital infection can achieve cure rates close to 100 per cent.

The authors call for improved diagnosis of pregnant women, treatment of infected newborns, and greater awareness of the problem among medical practitioners.

Related external links:

Congenital Transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in Argentina
World Health Organisation: Chagas disease