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.

UGR scientists break new ground in Chagas disease research

A team of scientists from the University of Granada has broken new ground in Chagas disease research.

10 May 2019

Key gene involved in transmission of African sleeping sickness identified

Life scientists from UCLA and the University of Bern have identified a key gene in the transmission of African sleeping sickness -- a severe disease transmitted by the bite of infected tsetse flies, which are common in sub-Saharan Africa.

10 Apr 2019

New survey indicates need of attention to neglected tropical diseases

Although neglected diseases account for 11% of the global disease burden, they are targeted by only a small proportion of the new drugs developed every year.

22 Mar 2019

Shorter treatment for Chagas disease found to be effective and safer than standard treatment

A two-week treatment course for adult patients with chronic Chagas disease showed, when compared to placebo, similar efficacy and significantly fewer side effects than the standard treatment duration of eight weeks, according to the results of a clinical trial in Bolivia led by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative.

14 Mar 2019

New drug for sleeping sickness approved in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Marketing authorization of fexinidazole for the treatment of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), more commonly known as sleeping sickness, has been granted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

31 Jan 2019

Combination therapy shows high efficacy in treating people with leishmaniasis and HIV

The results of clinical trials conducted in Ethiopia by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières, the University of Gondar, and Addis Ababa University, open the way for more effective and safer treatments for people with both HIV and visceral leishmaniasis, a group of patients who have historically suffered from poor treatment options.

18 Jan 2019

EMA recommends first all-oral treatment to tackle deadly sleeping sickness

The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive scientific opinion of fexinidazole, the first all-oral treatment that has been shown to be efficacious for both stages of sleeping sickness.

16 Nov 2018

Anti-parasite drug may improve long-term prognosis of Chagas patients

Researchers have found that the anti-parasite drug benznidazole may improve the long-term prognoses of patients with chronic Chagas disease, according to a study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, by Clareci Silva Cardoso at the Federal University of São João del-Rei, Divinópolis, Brazil, and colleagues from the SaMi-Trop study, a project funded by NIAID/NIH.

2 Nov 2018

Clinical trial begins to find better treatment for chronic cases of PKDL in Africa

A clinical trial to find a better treatment for severe or chronic cases of post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) in Africa has begun in Dooka, Sudan.

12 Sep 2018

Researchers receive $6 million NIH grant to improve treatment for Chagas disease

Scientists at The University of Texas at El Paso have received nearly $6 million from the National Institutes of Health to improve treatment and develop new diagnostic tools to assess post-therapeutic outcomes for patients with Chagas disease.

29 Aug 2018

Chagas disease causes chronic heart disease and has spread outside of Latin America

Chagas disease, caused by infection with a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi (T cruzi), causes chronic heart disease in about one third of those infected.

20 Aug 2018

New laboratory-synthesized molecule appears to fight malaria effectively

A novel laboratory-synthesized molecule based in natural compounds found in marine gliding bacteria - known as marinoquinolines - is a strong candidate for the development of a new antimalarial drug.

10 Aug 2018

Researchers describe key role of enzyme in regulating immune response against Chagas disease parasite

In an article published recently in the journal Nature Communications, researchers affiliated with the University of São Paulo in Brazil describe the central role played by an enzyme called phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase gamma in regulating the immune response against Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan parasite that causes Chagas disease.

16 Jul 2018

Researchers use miniature radio transmitters to track movements of kissing bugs

With the continuing advance of technology, radio tracking devices keep getting smaller and smaller. And that's bad news for stealthy insects like kissing bugs.

10 Jul 2018

New guide published to help battle fatal disease caused by kissing bugs

A guide to help battle a potentially fatal disease transferred by a blood-sucking insect called the kissing bug has been published by a task force led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

22 Jun 2018

UC San Diego establishes new Center For Anti-Parasitic Drug Discovery And Development

Neglected tropical diseases are a group of chronic and disabling parasitic infections that primarily affect poor and underserved communities.

14 Jun 2018

Clinical study to find improved treatment for visceral leishmaniasis starts in eastern Africa

A new study to find a safer, efficacious and more patient-friendly treatment and improved diagnostic tools for people living with visceral leishmaniasis has begun in eastern Africa, within the new Afri-KA-DIA Consortium with funding from The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership.

13 Apr 2018

Researchers discover major cause of treatment failure in Chagas disease

Researchers at the University of Georgia have discovered that dormancy of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi prevents effective drug treatment for Chagas disease, which kills more than 50,000 people each year in Central and South America and is a growing threat in the United States and Europe.

30 Mar 2018

Researchers discover new weakness in sleeping sickness parasites

Trypanosomes are single-celled parasites that cause diseases such as human African sleeping sickness and Nagana in animals. But they are also used in basic research as a model system to study fundamental biological questions.

21 Feb 2018

Researchers provide safety data for common antiparasitic drug used to treat Chagas disease

Benznidazole is one of the two existing antiparasitic drugs for Chagas' disease treatment. However, it is a poorly tolerated drug and its use to treat chronic disease raises safety concerns. Knowledge about its toxicity profile is scarce and mostly based on post-marketing observational studies.

20 Feb 2018