Imported Chagas Disease from Latin America continues under the radar in the U.S.

Chagas has largely slipped under the world’s radar because symptoms often don’t show up for months and years after a person has been infected.
digitaljournal.com reported while much of the world’s attention has been focused on Ebola, another disease with equally devastating implications is surging. The CDC estimates that some 300,000 people throughout the U.S. may have Chagas disease, and many cases may remain undiagnosed. Along with the statistics provided above for the United States, an additional 16 to 18 million people are afflicted with Chagas disease in Central and South America. Out of that number, 50,000 will die every year, the Texas Department of State Health Services reports. This vector-borne disease is a major cause of heart disease and gastrointestinal dysfunction in widespread areas throughout Latin America, The Albert Einstein College of Medicine reports. Spread by triatomine insects which are usually called Kissing Bugs, this disease is the most common parasitic disease in Bolivia, and it affects more than one million people, this video reports: Read Article