This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Spanish PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Infectious Diseases, Other  • JAMA Patient Page  • Alert me on articles by topic

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Infection is most commonly acquired through contact with an infected triatomine bug (or "kissing bug," because it often bites the face). Infection can also occur from mother to baby (congenital), contaminated blood products (transfusions), or an organ transplanted from an infected donor. Chagas disease occurs mainly in Latin America, where an estimated 8 million to 11 million people are infected. People living in rural areas are at greatest risk. Most individuals with Chagas disease in the United States acquired their infections in other countries. Although there are triatomine bugs in the United States, only rare cases originating in the United States have been documented. The November 14, 2007, issue of JAMA includes an article about Chagas disease.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

The acute infection phase lasts 2 to 3 months and is often mild; the chronic phase may be silent for . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Janet M. Torpy, MD, Writer; Alison E. Burke, MA, Illustrator; Richard M. Glass, MD, Editor

RELATED ARTICLE

Evaluation and Treatment of Chagas Disease in the United States: A Systematic Review
Caryn Bern, Susan P. Montgomery, Barbara L. Herwaldt, Anis Rassi, Jr, Jose Antonio Marin-Neto, Roberto O. Dantas, James H. Maguire, Harry Acquatella, Carlos Morillo, Louis V. Kirchhoff, Robert H. Gilman, Pedro A. Reyes, Roberto Salvatella, and Anne C. Moore
JAMA. 2007;298(18):2171-2181.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT