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World Chagas Disease Day, which affects around seven million people worldwide, is celebrated this Tuesday. In Portugal it is estimated that there are about a thousand patients.
Latin America is the region of the planet with the most confirmed cases of Chagas disease, which can be transmitted through blood, transplantation and from mother to child during pregnancy. Jorge Seixas, doctor and professor at the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explains that the parasite, once in the body, can, for several years, cause damage to the patient’s health, that is, at the heart and intestinal level.
“The parasite multiplies in the body, causes a feverish symptom, not very specific, and then this acute situation is resolved in four to six weeks without major problems, most of the time. However, the parasite persists, mainly in the heart and nervous system, “Jorge Seixas explained to TSF.
The World Health Organization classifies Chagas disease as a silent and neglected disease, since it is more frequent in poor countries, which do not channel health and research resources to combat and treat patients.
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