Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026
13:55
Sexual Transmission of American Trypanosomes from Males and Females to Naive Mates
Published on: January 27, 2019
An update on Chagas disease (human American trypanosomiasis)
1Universidad de los Andes, Calle 70, No. 5-60, (204) Bogotá, Colombia. amoncayo@uniandes.edu.co
Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology
|January 18, 2007
Summary
Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, affects the Americas. Control programs in South America have reduced new infections by 67%, with ongoing efforts to eliminate transmission.
Area of Science:
- * Infectious Diseases
- * Parasitology
- * Public Health
Background:
- * American trypanosomiasis, or Chagas disease, is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.
- * Transmission occurs via triatomine bugs, blood transfusions, and transplacentally.
- * The disease has acute and chronic phases, with the latter potentially causing irreversible nervous system damage.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To improve data quality on Chagas disease prevalence and distribution.
- * To implement and evaluate control strategies for Trypanosoma cruzi transmission.
- * To track progress towards the goal of interrupting Chagas disease transmission.
Main Methods:
- * Development of standardized protocols for country-wide prevalence studies.
- * Implementation of co-ordinated control programs in South America, Andean countries, and Central America.
- * Monitoring of new human infections and vector infestation rates.
Main Results:
- * Significant improvement in Chagas disease prevalence and distribution data since the 1980s.
- * Successful interruption of Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in Uruguay, Chile, and Brazil.
- * A 67% global decrease in new Trypanosoma cruzi infections due to control initiatives.
Conclusions:
- * Co-ordinated control programs have effectively reduced Chagas disease transmission in South America.
- * Ongoing multi-country initiatives aim to interrupt all transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi.
- * Advances in genetic characterization and genome sequencing of Trypanosoma cruzi aid research.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:22American Trypanosomiasis
Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a vector-borne parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a flagellated protozoan (kinetoplastid) of the family Trypanosomatidae. The disease is endemic in Latin America, although cases are increasingly reported worldwide due to human migration. Transmission most commonly occurs when feces of infected triatomine bugs contaminate bite wounds or mucosal surfaces; additional routes include congenital, transfusional, transplant-related, and oral...
01:28Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...
01:30Leishmaniasis
Leishmaniasis is a protozoal disease caused by species of the genus Leishmania and transmitted through the bite of infected female sandflies. The parasite exists in two principal morphological forms during its life cycle. A sandfly acquires intracellular amastigotes from an infected reservoir host, such as a dog. Within the sandfly, these forms differentiate into motile, flagellated promastigotes. During a subsequent blood meal, promastigotes are injected into the human host, where they...
01:21Antiprotozoal Agents
Leishmaniasis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by several Leishmania species. It affects millions of people each year and remains a major public health problem in endemic regions. First-line treatment relies on pentavalent antimonials, including meglumine antimoniate and sodium stibogluconate. Even so, how these drugs work has not been fully clear, especially their interaction with parasite-specific biochemical pathways. One key target is trypanothione reductase (TR), an enzyme that...
01:28Amebiasis
Entamoeba histolytica, a protozoan parasite, is responsible for intestinal and extraintestinal amebiasis. Though a significant proportion of infections remain asymptomatic, approximately 50 million individuals annually are estimated to present with clinical disease, resulting in up to 100,000 deaths globally. The disease burden is disproportionately high in regions with lower socioeconomic status, such as parts of India, Africa, Mexico, and Latin America.Etiology and TransmissionThe infective...
01:18Trichomoniasis
Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellated protozoan parasite and the causative agent of trichomoniasis, one of the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted infections in the United States. This extracellular parasite primarily colonizes the lower genitourinary tract in women—particularly the vagina—and in men, the urethra and prostate. Its structural and functional adaptations enable its survival, motility, and pathogenicity within the host environment.Structural Features and Host EntryT.