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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffThe cause of Chagas disease is the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.
T. cruzi is transmitted to humans by various species of bloodsucking insects known as triatomine insects or reduviid bugs. Also called "kissing bugs" because of their tendency to feed on faces, these insects become infected by T. cruzi when they ingest blood from an animal already infected with the parasite.
Reduviid bugs live primarily in mud, thatch or adobe huts in Mexico, South America and Central America. They hide in crevices in the walls or roof during the day, then come out at night — often feeding on sleeping humans.
When infected reduviid bugs bite humans, they defecate, passing the T. cruzi parasites in their feces, which irritates the skin of the infected person. The parasites can then enter your body through your eyes, mouth, a cut or scratch, or the wound from the reduviid bug's bite. Scratching or rubbing the bite site can help the parasites enter your body. Once in your body, the parasites multiply and spread.
You may also become infected by:
- Eating uncooked food contaminated with feces from infected reduviid bugs
- Being born to a woman infected with T. cruzi
- Having a blood transfusion containing infected blood
- Getting an organ transplant containing infected blood
- Working in a laboratory where there's an accidental
- Spending time in a forest that houses infected wild animals, such as raccoons and opossums
- Being with an infected pet
- Chagas: Detailed fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/chagas/factsheets/detailed.html. Accessed April 27, 2009.
- Leder K, et al. Epidemiology and control of Chagas' disease. http://www.uptodate.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=parasite/18. Accessed April 27, 2009.
- Bern C, et al. Evaluation and treatment of Chagas diseases in the United States: A systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2007;298:2171.
- Yacoub S, et al. Neglected tropical cardiomyopathies: I. Chagas disease. Heart. 2008;94:244.
- Milei J, et al. Prognostic impact of Chagas disease in the United States. American Heart Journal. 2009;157:22.
- Chagas disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.medhelp.org/NIHlib/GF-510.html. Accessed April 27, 2009.
