As of 2022, a vaccine has not been developed. Early infections are treatable with the medications benznidazole or nifurtimox, which usually cure the disease if given shortly after the person is infected, but become less effective the longer a person has had Chagas disease. When used in chronic disease, medication may delay or prevent the development of end-stage symptoms. Benznidazole and nifurtimox often cause side effects, including skin disorders, digestive system irritation, and neurological symptoms, which can result in treatment being discontinued. As of 2019, new drugs for Chagas disease are under development, and experimental vaccines have been studied in animal models.It is estimated that 6.5 million people, mostly in Mexico, Central America and South America, have Chagas disease as of 2019, resulting in approximately 9,490 annual deaths. Most people with the disease are poor, and most do not realize they are infected. Large-scale population migrations have carried Chagas disease to new regions, which include the United States and many European countries. The disease affects more than 150 types of animals.The disease was first described in 1909 by Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas, after whom it is named. Chagas disease is classified as a neglected tropical disease. Signs and symptoms
Chagas disease occurs in two stages: an acute stage, which develops one to two weeks after the insect bite, and a chronic stage, which develops over many years. The acute stage is often symptom-free. When present, the symptoms are typically minor and not specific to any particular disease.
Almost immediately thereafter, at the suggestion of Miguel Couto, then professor of the Faculdade de Medicina do Rio de Janeiro, the disease was widely referred to as "Chagas disease". Chagas discovery brought him national and international renown, but in highlighting the inadequacies of the Brazilian governments response to the disease, Chagas attracted criticism to himself and to the disease that bore his name, stifling research on his discovery and likely frustrating his nomination for the Nobel Prize in 1921.In the 1930s, Salvador Mazza rekindled Chagas disease research, describing over a thousand cases in Argentinas Chaco Province. In Argentina, the disease is known as mal de Chagas-Mazza in his honor. Serological tests for Chagas disease were introduced in the 1940s, demonstrating that infection with T. cruzi was widespread across Latin America. This, combined with successes eliminating the malaria vector through insecticide use, spurred the creation of public health campaigns focused on treating houses with insecticides to eradicate triatomine bugs. The 1950s saw the discovery that treating blood with crystal violet could eradicate the parasite, leading to its widespread use in transfusion screening programs in Latin America. Large-scale control programs began to take form in the 1960s, first in São Paulo, then various locations in Argentina, then national-level programs across Latin America. These programs received a major boost in the 1980s with the introduction of pyrethroid insecticides, which did not leave stains or odors after application and were longer-lasting and more cost-effective.