(SOURCES: Anne Moore, M.D., Ph.D., medical epidemiologist, U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Marc Siegel, M.D.,
associate professor, medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, New
York City; July 6, 2012, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report )
THURSDAY, July 5 (HealthDay News) -- As many as 300,000 people
in the United States may have chronic Chagas disease -- mostly
spread by blood-sucking insects -- health officials report.
However, the first confirmed U.S. case of transmission from a
mother to a newborn was recently documented, adding to ongoing
concern about this parasitic disease, according to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people with
Chagas disease in the United States are immigrants from areas in
Latin America, where the disease is endemic, the report said.
While Chagas is treatable and curable, it often goes
unrecognized. Untreated, the infection is lifelong. "Only a few
people who are infected develop early symptoms," said Dr. Anne
Moore, a CDC medical epidemiol