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.

Maternal-fetal Chagas disease transmission still problematic

The incidence of Chagas disease, otherwise known as Trypanosoma cruzi infection, is still high in pregnant women in Bolivia, researchers say.

14 Sep 2012

NIH awards Immunetics $3.7M SBIR contract for Babesia infection blood screening test

Immunetics, Inc., has received a $3.7 million, two year SBIR contract from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to support clinical trials of a new blood screening test for Babesia infection.

10 Sep 2012

Recent release: AIDS 2012 panel discussion highlighted link between HIV/AIDS, NTDs

"On Wednesday, July 25, the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases [NTDs] co-chaired a panel at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012), addressing the link between NTDs and HIV/AIDS," the network's "End the Neglect" blog reports.

28 Jul 2012

Cipla, DNDi to develop ARV combination therapy for children with HIV/AIDS

On the eve of the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a not-for-profit research and development (R&D) organization, announces a new collaboration with Indian drug manufacturer Cipla to develop and produce an improved first-line antiretroviral (ARV) combination therapy specifically adapted to meet the treatment needs of infants and toddlers living with HIV/AIDS.

21 Jul 2012

Microbiologists reveal how T. brucei’s key proteins organize to replicate its mtDNA

A group of diseases that kill millions of people each year can't be touched by antibiotics, and some treatment is so harsh the patient can't survive it. They're caused by parasites, and for decades researchers have searched for a "magic bullet" to kill them without harming the patient. Now, a team of microbiologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has made an advance that could one day lead to a new weapon for fighting parasitic diseases such as African sleeping sickness, chagas disease and leishmaniasis.

11 Jul 2012

FDA clears Immunetics’ BacTx rapid test for bacterial contamination in platelet units

Immunetics, Inc., has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its BacTx rapid test for bacterial contamination in platelet units, Andrew E. Levin, Ph.D., Immunetics Chief Executive Officer and Scientific Director, announced today.

13 Jun 2012

DNDi, Astellas partner on new drug discovery research for treatment of NTDs

Astellas Pharma Inc. and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) announced an agreement today to collaborate on drug discovery research for leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and sleeping sickness - three neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) which together affect nearly 10 million people worldwide.

12 Jun 2012

MSF report examines past, present, future management of neglected tropical diseases

"In order to break the vicious cycle that leaves tropical diseases neglected, existing programs that diagnose and treat patients need to be expanded and medical research to develop simpler, more effective tools needs to be supported, according to a new report, Fighting Neglect, released Monday by Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)," the organization reports on its webpage.

12 Jun 2012

Chagas disease – ‘the AIDS of the Americas’

A recent editorial published in the Public Library of Science's Neglected Tropical Diseases called Chagas disease, a parasite which kills about 20,000 people a year, "the AIDS of the Americas." The disease can be transferred to a child from its mother or by blood transfusions. About 20 percent of those infected can develop life-threatening illness that includes enlarged hearts or intestines, and the drugs used today to treat the disease can take months to work.

12 Jun 2012

Scientists decode genome of main Chagas disease vector

"An international team of scientists has decoded the genome of one of the main vectors of Chagas disease, paving the way for more targeted vector control and new ways to prevent disease transmission," SciDev.Net reports.

6 Jun 2012

Experts respond to PLoS editorial comparing Chagas disease to HIV/AIDS

"Chagas disease, a parasitic infection spread to humans by insects, is not the new HIV/AIDS of the Americas, according to infectious disease experts who called the comparison," made in an editorial published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases last week, "'unrealistic' and 'unfortunate,'" ABC News' "Medical Unit" blog reports.

5 Jun 2012

Chagas disease could pose threat similar to other global pandemics, experts warn

"Researchers are warning that the little-known Chagas disease could pose a threat similar to other global pandemics," Fox News reports, noting Chagas disease "is a parasitic illness that is most commonly transmitted by the so-called 'kissing bugs,' a subfamily of blood-sucking insects, through the parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi" (5/31).

2 Jun 2012

Chagas disease especially harmful for expectant mothers; New, better treatments needed

"Chagas disease -- a parasitic infection transmitted through an insect commonly known as the 'kissing bug' -- is one of the most common infections among pregnant women in the Western Hemisphere," Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and director of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, writes in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

4 May 2012

Honduras becomes first LAC country to launch national plan to combat NTDs

"A major milestone was achieved on April 12, when Honduras became the first country in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region to officially launch an integrated national plan to combat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)," the the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases' "End the Neglect" blog reports.

20 Apr 2012

DNDi, AstraZeneca enter collaboration on drug-compound screening for NTDs

AstraZeneca and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) today announce an agreement to collaborate on drug-compound screening for leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and sleeping sickness, three neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) which together affect nearly 10 million people worldwide.

12 Apr 2012

Clemson researcher to continue African sleeping sickness study

Clemson University researcher James Morris received a $360,079 competitive renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue his study of Trypanosoma brucei, the single-celled parasite that causes African sleeping sickness.

3 Apr 2012

Warming climate may increase risk from Chagas disease

In the spring of 1835, Charles Darwin was bitten in Argentina by a "great wingless black bug," he wrote in his diary. "It is most disgusting to feel soft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over one's body," Darwin wrote, "before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards round & bloated with blood."

16 Mar 2012

DNDi commences Oxaborole SCYX-7158 Phase I clinical trial for sleeping sickness

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) has commenced a Phase I clinical trial in healthy adults in Paris, France, to determine the safety and tolerability of a promising oral drug candidate Oxaborole SCYX-7158, to treat human African trypanosomiasis (HAT, or sleeping sickness) for stage 1 and stage 2 of the disease.

12 Mar 2012

South Sudan hoping NTD initiative will bring relief from high levels of disease, IRIN reports

"Decades of war, neglect, and lack of development have left South Sudan with nine out of 10 of th[e] key neglected tropical diseases [NTDs] -- all but Chagas disease, which is endemic to South America," and health workers in the new nation are hoping that the recent formation of a large public-private partnership to combat the diseases "will finally help to have an impact on South Sudan's appalling health indicators," IRIN reports.

24 Feb 2012

University of Georgia researcher to develop first Chagas vaccine for pets

Chagas disease is the single most common cause of congestive heart failure and sudden death in the world. The devastating parasitic infection affects millions of people throughout Central and South America. But as global travel increases, it's becoming a greater threat in the United States and Europe as well.

17 Feb 2012

Chagas Disease News and Research

Further Reading

Maternal-fetal Chagas disease transmission still problematic

NIH awards Immunetics $3.7M SBIR contract for Babesia infection blood screening test

Recent release: AIDS 2012 panel discussion highlighted link between HIV/AIDS, NTDs

Cipla, DNDi to develop ARV combination therapy for children with HIV/AIDS

Microbiologists reveal how T. brucei’s key proteins organize to replicate its mtDNA

FDA clears Immunetics’ BacTx rapid test for bacterial contamination in platelet units

DNDi, Astellas partner on new drug discovery research for treatment of NTDs

MSF report examines past, present, future management of neglected tropical diseases

Chagas disease – ‘the AIDS of the Americas’

Scientists decode genome of main Chagas disease vector

Experts respond to PLoS editorial comparing Chagas disease to HIV/AIDS

Chagas disease could pose threat similar to other global pandemics, experts warn

Chagas disease especially harmful for expectant mothers; New, better treatments needed

Honduras becomes first LAC country to launch national plan to combat NTDs

DNDi, AstraZeneca enter collaboration on drug-compound screening for NTDs

Clemson researcher to continue African sleeping sickness study

Warming climate may increase risk from Chagas disease

DNDi commences Oxaborole SCYX-7158 Phase I clinical trial for sleeping sickness

South Sudan hoping NTD initiative will bring relief from high levels of disease, IRIN reports

University of Georgia researcher to develop first Chagas vaccine for pets

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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