Chagas Cardiomyopathy in the Brazilian Amazon Region: Low Prevalence or Underdiagnosis?
Introduction
Chagas disease (CD) was discovered in 1909 by the Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas, who described the etiological agent – a flagellated protozoan named Trypanosoma cruzi ( T. cruzi ) – its morphological features and transmission and life cycle, as well as clinical manifestations of the disease. Although triatomine insects are the primary transmission vectors of CD, the oral route through contaminated food has been considered the main transmission path in the Brazilian Amazon.
The disease presents two clinical phases: an acute infection, mostly symptomatic with high parasitemia, and a chronic infection divided into asymptomatic indeterminate form or symptomatic (digestive or cardiac) form.
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