Abstract
Chagas disease and leishmaniasis are the most important vector-borne protozoan NTDs. Almost all of the 8-9 million cases of Chagas disease (with approximately 50,000 new cases annually) occur in poor rural and, increasingly, many new urban and peri-urban areas of Latin America. Of these cases, an estimated 5.4 million people will develop chronic Chagas heart disease, while 900,000 will develop megaesophagus and megacolon. In LAC, the burden of disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection is between five to ten times greater than malaria. Chagas disease is disproportionately represented among people living in poverty. The disease has also emerged or re-emerged in areas of conflict in Chiapas State, Mexico and Colombia. The major approaches to control including improved case management and vector control programs, together with housing improvement through regional programs. In LAC, both cutaneous and visceral forms of leishmaniasis result primarily from zoonotic transmission from either canine or sylvatic reservoir hosts. The most important determinants for the emergence of both new world zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) and zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) include poverty, urbanization, and human migration. Leishmania mexicana, L. amazonensis, L. braziliensis, L panamensis, L. peruviana, and L. guyanensis are the major species that cause new world ZCL. Approximately 62,000 cases of ZCL occur primarily in Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela, where urbanization near Lutzomyia sandfly breeding sites have led to an increase in the number of cases. In addition, the emergence of ZCL n Colombia is linked to several decades of armed and guerilla internal conflict fueled by cocaine production and trafficking. In northeastern Brazil, ZVL (L. chagasi) has become an important infection in the favelas of Forteleza, Salvador do Bahia, and other urban centers; ZVL has also emerged in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte. A regional leishmaniasis control action plan is now being implemented. Abstracts for SupplementInternational Journal of Infectious DiseasesVol. 14Preview Full-Text PDF Open Archive
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
