American trypanosomiasis
Synonyms: Chagas disease
A tropical disease mainly found in latin America and transmitted by triatomine insects (mostly Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus and Panstrongylus megistus) harboring the hemoflagellate protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. The disease is characterized by an acute phase which is either asymptomatic or manifest with fever inflammation at the inoculation site (inoculation chancre or chagoma) unilateral palpebral edema called the Romaña sign (when the triatomine bite occurs near the eye) enlarged lymph nodes and splenomegaly. The chronic phase is lifelong and development of chagasic cardiomyopathy (30%; complex arrhythmias heart failure and thromboembolic events) digestive (10%; megaoesophagus and megacolon) neurological (10%; stroke peripheral neuropathy and autonomic dysfunction) or mixed alterations (10%) may be observed. These can all lead to high morbidity and mortality rates.
Data from Orphanet are used to provide information on a disease's name, synonym(s), and overview.
Reference: Access aggregated data from Orphanet at Orphadata.
Orphadata: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Available on http://www.orphadata.org. Data version April 2024
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American trypanosomiasis?
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