Abstract
Chagas disease, in the Amazon Region as elsewhere, can be considered an enzootic disease of wild animals or an anthropozoonosis, an accidental disease of humans that is acquired when humans penetrate a wild ecosystem or when wild triatomines invade human dwellings attracted by light or searching for human blood. The risk of endemic Chagas disease in the Amazon Region is associated with the following phenomena: (i) extensive deforestation associated with the displacement of wild mammals, which are the normal sources of blood for triatomines, (ii) adaptation of wild triatomines to human dwellings due to the need for a new source of blood for feeding and (iii) uncontrolled migration of human populations and domestic animals that are already infected with Trypanosoma cruzi from areas endemic for Chagas disease to the Amazon Region. Several outbreaks of severe acute cases of Chagas disease, as well as chronic cases, have been described in the Amazon Region. Control measures targeted to avoiding endemic Chagas disease in the Amazon Region should be the following: improving health education in communities, training public health officials and communities for vector and Chagas disease surveillance and training local physicians to recognise and treat acute and chronic cases of Chagas diseases as soon as possible.
Highlights
Chagas disease, in the Amazon Region as elsewhere, can be considered an enzootic disease of wild animals or an anthropozoonosis, an accidental disease of humans that is acquired when humans penetrate a wild ecosystem or when wild triatomines invade human dwellings attracted by light or searching for human blood
The Brazilian Amazon Region covers 4,871,500 km2, accounting for 67% of the 7,275,300 km2 of Pan-Amazonia (Table I)
Chagas disease, which is the main topic of this review, is thought to have existed in the Amazon Region for millions of years as an enzootic disease of wild animals
Summary
7.275.3 source: Aguilar et al (2007). Fig. 1: location of Amazon region in South America. They highlighted Colares in PA, with 5.1% and Barcelos, Novo Airão and Japurá in AM, with 6.3%, 6.8% and 6.9%, respectively After this national survey, several other studies were presented, including reports on acute outbreaks, case reports and reports on the prevalence and morbidity of Chagas disease in the Brazilian Amazon Region. Several other studies were presented, including reports on acute outbreaks, case reports and reports on the prevalence and morbidity of Chagas disease in the Brazilian Amazon Region Among these investigations, studies by Coura et al (1993, 1994a, b, 1995a, b, 1999, 2002a, b), Valente and Valente (1993), Valente et al (1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009), Pinto et al (2001, 2003, 2004, 2008), Albajar et al (2003), Junqueira et al (2005), Xavier et al (2006) and Brum-Soares et al (2010) can be highlighted. Since Carlos Chagas (1924) confirmed that the parasite T. cruzi was present in isolates prepared by AbenAthar in 1922 from monkeys of the species Saimiri
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