Chagas Disease News and Research

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Chagas (pronounced SHA-gus) disease is named after the Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas, who discovered it in 1909. It is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to animals and people by insect vectors that are 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.

People can become infected in various ways. In Chagas-endemic areas, the main way is through vectorborne transmission. The insect vectors are called triatomine bugs. These blood-sucking bugs get infected by biting an infected animal or person. Once infected, the bugs pass T. cruzi parasites in their feces. The bugs are found in houses made from materials such as mud, adobe, straw, and palm thatch. During the day, the bugs hide in crevices in the walls and roofs. During the night, when the inhabitants are sleeping, the bugs emerge. Because they tend to feed on people’s faces, triatomine bugs are also known as “kissing bugs.” After they bite and ingest blood, they defecate on the person. The person can become infected if T. cruzi parasites in the bug feces enter the body through mucous membranes or breaks in the skin. The unsuspecting, sleeping person may accidentally scratch or rub the feces into the bite wound, eyes, or mouth.

Drug initiative granted rights to develop TB compounds for potential treatment of NTDs

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative now has the rights to "develop a class of potential anti-[tuberculosis] compounds" for the treatment of Chagas disease, African sleeping sickness and leishmaniasis, Reuters reports (Nebehay, 7/7).

8 Jul 2010

Recent releases in global health

Looking ahead to AIDS 2010 which will be held in Vienna, Austria, July 18-23, a Lancet editorial writes that 2010 marks "the deadline set by global leaders to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care. Sadly, the world will not meet these ambitious goals." However, the latest issue of the Lancet "offers some new insights to progress," the editorial notes.

3 Jul 2010

Merck proposes to initiate Phase II proof-of-concept clinical study of posaconazole for chronic Chagas disease

Merck today announced plans to initiate a Phase II investigational proof-of-concept clinical study to evaluate its oral antifungal agent posaconazole for the treatment of chronic Chagas disease. Chagas disease results from infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi that is spread by biting insects. The disease is estimated to affect approximately eight million people in Latin America, of whom approximately 30-40 percent will develop serious cardiac disease, digestive disease, or both as a result of this infection.

24 Jun 2010

Student receives two-year $46,000 fellowship to research on a parasite that causes Chagas' disease

Michelle Oppenheimer of Charlotte, N.C., a Ph.D. student in biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has received a two-year $46,000 fellowship from the American Heart Association to advance her research on a parasite that causes Chagas' disease, which can lead to swelling and inflammation of the heart.

23 Jun 2010

ABBOTT PRISM Chagas test receives FDA approval

Abbott received Biologic License Application (BLA) approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the ABBOTT PRISM Chagas test. The test is a fully automated blood screening assay that can detect antibodies to Trypansoma cruzi (T. cruzi), a parasite found only in the Americas and most commonly acquired through contact with the blood-sucking triatomine or "kissing bug."

19 May 2010

New bacterial species in tsete fly may help control African sleeping sickness

A new bacterial species, found in the gut of the fly that transmits African sleeping sickness, could be engineered to kill the parasite that causes the disease. The study, published in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, could lead to new approaches to control this fatal infection that is becoming resistant to drug therapy.

11 May 2010

FDA approves Abbott's CREON sNDA including dosing guidance for treating EPI due to CP, pancreatectomy

Abbott announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for CREON® (pancrelipase) Delayed-Release Capsules that now includes dosing guidance in the prescribing information specific to patients with limited production of enzymes in the pancreas (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) due to chronic pancreatitis (CP) or removal of the pancreas (pancreatectomy). Prior to this FDA approval, dosing guidance for medications such as CREON was based on patients with cystic fibrosis.

3 May 2010

FDA approves Abbott Prism Chagas test to screen blood, tissue and organ donors for T. cruzi

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a second test to screen blood, tissue and organ donors for a blood-borne parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi that causes Chagas disease, a serious and potentially fatal parasitic infection.

3 May 2010

VIMOVO delayed-release tablets receive FDA approval

AstraZeneca and POZEN Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved VIMOVO (naproxen and esomeprazole magnesium) delayed-release tablets for the relief of signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis, and to decrease the risk of developing gastric ulcers in patients at risk of developing NSAID-associated gastric ulcers.

3 May 2010

Opinions: Sanitation and women, child health; GM in Global Food Security bill; U.S. malaria strategy; GHI on NTDs; Haiti recovery

"If Stephen Harper is serious about maternal health and child health [as suggested by his plans for the upcoming G8 and G20 summits], he needs to recognize that healthy mothers come from healthy communities," Maude Barlow and Meera Karunananthan of the Council of Canadians write in a Chronicle Herald opinion piece that examines the connections between the health of women and children and access to drinking water and sanitation.

30 Apr 2010

Manipulating physiology of "kissing bug" may help prevent transmission of Chagas' disease

It makes your skin crawl-a bug that crawls onto your lips while you sleep, drawn by the exhaled carbon dioxide, numbs your skin, bites, then gorges on your blood. And if that's not insult enough, it promptly defecates on the wound-and passes on a potentially deadly disease.

30 Apr 2010

Researchers develop new diagnostic approach to fight against Chagas disease

Chagas disease is one of the most deadly parasitic diseases in the world. It affects more than 10 million people, primarily in the Americas. In South America alone it kills 50 000 people each year. A reliable and rapid diagnosis is the key in the battle against infection but until now, this has been next to impossible.

28 Apr 2010

Abbott's first-quarter worldwide pharmaceutical sales increases by 12.9%

Abbott today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

21 Apr 2010

Tapeworm infections of brain increasing in Mexico and bordering southwestern states

Tapeworm infections of the brain, which can cause epileptic seizures, appear to be increasing in Mexico and bordering southwestern states, Loyola University Health System researchers report.

15 Apr 2010

San Diego Union-Tribune examines pharma's growing interest in neglected diseases

The San Diego Union-Tribune examines the pharmaceutical industry's growing interest in developing new treatments for what are known as "neglected diseases."

13 Apr 2010

Scientists identify potential new method for treating sleeping sickness

Scientists have identified a potential new approach to treat human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly known as sleeping sickness, which afflicts "tens of thousands of people in sub-Saharan Africa" annually, IRIN reports. By targeting an enzyme the sleeping sickness parasite needs in order to survive, researchers say they can kill it without causing harm to the patient (4/1).

2 Apr 2010

Major breakthrough may help develop low toxicity drugs for sleeping sickness

Scientists from the Drug Discovery Unit at the University of Dundee - working together with partners at the University of York and the Structural Genomics Consortium in Toronto - have made a major breakthrough in identifying new treatments for a fatal disease which infects tens of thousands of Africans each year.

1 Apr 2010

'Dipstick' 3-in-1 test for detection of Chagas' disease, leishmaniasis and African trypanosomiasis

A new simple, inexpensive three-in-one test to diagnose a terrible trio of parasitic diseases that wreak havoc in the developing world is passing preliminary tests, scientists reported here today. Described during the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society the test is for Chagas' disease, leishmaniasis, and "sleeping sickness" or African trypanosomiasis.

22 Mar 2010

Scientists determine structure of enzyme essential to the survival of protozoan parasites

After many years of study, a team of researchers is releasing data today that it hopes will lead to new drug therapies that will kill the family of parasites that causes a deadly trio of insect-borne diseases and has afflicted inhabitants of underdeveloped and developing nations for centuries.

18 Jan 2010

Chagas disease transmission in Peru linked to migration and urbanization patterns

New research shows how the migration and settlement patterns associated with the rapid urbanization of Peru may link to Chagas disease transmission. The

16 Dec 2009

Chagas Disease News and Research

Further Reading

Drug initiative granted rights to develop TB compounds for potential treatment of NTDs

Recent releases in global health

Merck proposes to initiate Phase II proof-of-concept clinical study of posaconazole for chronic Chagas disease

Student receives two-year $46,000 fellowship to research on a parasite that causes Chagas' disease

ABBOTT PRISM Chagas test receives FDA approval

New bacterial species in tsete fly may help control African sleeping sickness

FDA approves Abbott's CREON sNDA including dosing guidance for treating EPI due to CP, pancreatectomy

FDA approves Abbott Prism Chagas test to screen blood, tissue and organ donors for T. cruzi

VIMOVO delayed-release tablets receive FDA approval

Opinions: Sanitation and women, child health; GM in Global Food Security bill; U.S. malaria strategy; GHI on NTDs; Haiti recovery

Manipulating physiology of "kissing bug" may help prevent transmission of Chagas' disease

Researchers develop new diagnostic approach to fight against Chagas disease

Abbott's first-quarter worldwide pharmaceutical sales increases by 12.9%

Tapeworm infections of brain increasing in Mexico and bordering southwestern states

San Diego Union-Tribune examines pharma's growing interest in neglected diseases

Scientists identify potential new method for treating sleeping sickness

Major breakthrough may help develop low toxicity drugs for sleeping sickness

'Dipstick' 3-in-1 test for detection of Chagas' disease, leishmaniasis and African trypanosomiasis

Scientists determine structure of enzyme essential to the survival of protozoan parasites

Chagas disease transmission in Peru linked to migration and urbanization patterns

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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