Chagas disease is endemic in Central and South Americas, with significant prevalence of human infection in 22 Latin American countries, where it affects 10 12 million people and kills more than 15,000 humans each year. cruzi has been found in mummies from northern Chile and southern Peru that are nearly 9000 years old. It may have been associated with humans shortly after they arrived in the Americas some 15,000 years ago.
The disease is, of course, much older than Chagas’ discovery. In 1986, Michel Tibayrenc and collaborators discovered that the reproduction of the parasite is clonal, rather than sexual. In 1910, Chagas discovered that Triatoma bugs are vectors of the parasite and that various animals (first, the armadillo) are wild reservoirs for the parasite. In 1909, Carlos Chagas identified Trypanosoma cruzi as the agent of Chagas disease. One century with Chagas disease is much too long. The online version of this book will show color figures where appropriate. Each copy is produced to order and is limited to black ink. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN: 978 0 12 384876 5 For information on all Elsevier publications visit our website at This book has been manufactured using Print On Demand technology. To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.
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