What causes Trypanosoma cruzi?
Table of Contents
What causes Trypanosoma cruzi?
The cause of Chagas disease is the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is spread from an insect known as the triatomine bug, or “kissing bug.” These insects can become infected by this parasite when they swallow blood from an animal that is infected with the parasite.
What is Chagas disease and how it is transmitted?
Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to animals and people by insect vectors and is found only in the Americas (mainly, in rural areas of Latin America where poverty is widespread). Chagas disease (T. cruzi infection) is also referred to as American trypanosomiasis.
What is the main vector of Chagas disease?
Considered a neglected tropical disease or disease of poverty, Chagas is endemic in 21 countries of the Americas. The T. cruzi is transmitted to humans and other mammals by a vector insect, the blood-sucking bugs of the subfamily Triatominae, popularly known as the conenose bugs and kissing bugs.
How is Trypanosoma cruzi diagnosed?
The diagnosis of Chagas disease can be made by observation of the parasite in a blood smear by microscopic examination. A thick and thin blood smear are made and stained for visualization of parasites.
What organ does Chagas disease affect?
The heart is the most commonly affected organ in persons with chronic Chagas disease. Autopsy may reveal marked bilateral ventricular enlargement, often involving the right side more than the left, in the heart of patients who die of chagasic heart failure (see image below).
How is Trypanosoma cruzi transmitted to humans?
The protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, causes Chagas disease, a zoonotic disease that can be transmitted to humans by blood-sucking triatomine bugs.
How is Chagas disease treated?
Treatment. To kill the parasite, Chagas disease can be treated with benznidazole or nifurtimox. Both medicines are nearly 100% effective in curing the disease if given soon after infection at the onset of the acute phase, including the cases of congenital transmission.
Is Chagas disease bacterial or viral?
It is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to animals and people by insect vectors and is found only in the Americas (mainly, in rural areas of Latin America where poverty is widespread).
Is Trypanosoma cruzi a bacteria?
Trypanosoma cruzi is a species of parasitic euglenoids. Among the protozoa, the trypanosomes characteristically bore tissue in another organism and feed on blood (primarily) and also lymph….
| Trypanosoma cruzi | |
|---|---|
| Species: | T. cruzi |
| Binomial name | |
| Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas, 1909 |
What kills Trypanosoma cruzi?
To kill the parasite, Chagas disease can be treated with benznidazole or nifurtimox. Both medicines are nearly 100% effective in curing the disease if given soon after infection at the onset of the acute phase, including the cases of congenital transmission.
Where does Trypanosoma cruzi live?
What is the infective form of Trypanosoma cruzi?
The trypomastigote is the infective flagellated form of the parasite found in the blood of the mammalian hosts (blood trypomastigote) and in the hindgut of vectors (metacyclic trypomastigote). Image courtesy of Peter Darben, MD. Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis).
How can Chagas be prevented?
Sleep under a bed net treated with insecticide if you must sleep outdoors. Practise safe food and water precautions. Avoid getting blood transfusions and organ transplants in areas where Chagas disease is found.
