Chagas disease

noun

Cha·​gas disease ˈshä-gəs- How to pronounce Chagas disease (audio)
-gə-səz-
variants or Chagas' disease
: a tropical American disease that is caused by a trypanosome (Trypanosoma cruzi) transmitted chiefly by blood-sucking insects (genus Triatoma, Rhodnius, or Panstrongylus) and that occurs in both an acute and chronic form

Note: The acute form of Chagas disease lasts for several weeks to months and is marked by mild symptoms (such as fever, fatigue, or swelling at the infection site) or rarely by serious symptoms (such as myocarditis or meningoencephalitis) but is often asymptomatic. The acute form may sometimes progress years later to a chronic form characterized especially by cardiac and gastrointestinal complications (such as cardiomyopathy, irregular heart rhythm, and enlargement of the colon or esophagus).

Chagas disease kills more Latin Americans than any other parasitic illness.The Economist
Chagas' disease spreads via insect fecal contamination of its own bite.Phil Gunby

called also American trypanosomiasis

Examples of Chagas disease in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web By Racz’s desk sits a cardboard box of parasite stuffed animals featuring cartoonish lice, ticks and the protozoan that causes Chagas disease. Hannah Richter, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 July 2024 Hotez has led or is currently leading development of vaccines for hookworm, schistosomiasis, Chagas disease, and SARS. Peter Hotez, TIME, 2 May 2024 The new policy, passed by board members of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, will require the groups that recover organs in the U.S. to test the blood of donors born in countries where Chagas disease is prevalent, including Mexico and 20 nations in South and Central America. Caroline Chen, ProPublica, 27 June 2023 Now, a new study of Indigenous peoples from the Amazon rainforest reveals one more such adaptation: a genetic resistance to the endemic parasite responsible for deadly Chagas disease. Byrodrigo Pérez Ortega, science.org, 8 Mar. 2023 Neglected diseases of poverty are a group of chronic and disabling illnesses, such as Chagas disease, hookworm, and Dengue fever, that primarily impact extremely impoverished people. Joshua Cohen, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2023 Some kissing bugs can carry the parasite that causes Chagas disease, which, left untreated, can lead to serious heart or digestive problems. Women's Health, 1 May 2023 This is the first experimental evidence that this gene is involved with Chagas disease, Hünemeier says. Byrodrigo Pérez Ortega, science.org, 8 Mar. 2023 The types of infections often seen in Texas and Gulf Coast areas include extrapulmonary and latent tuberculosis, strongyloidiasis, Chagas disease, and schistosomiasis. Joshua Cohen, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Chagas disease.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Carlos Chagas †1934 Brazilian physician

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Chagas disease was in 1911

Dictionary Entries Near Chagas disease

Cite this Entry

“Chagas disease.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Chagas%20disease. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Medical Definition

Chagas disease

noun
Cha·​gas disease ˈshäg-əs- How to pronounce Chagas disease (audio)
variants or Chagas' disease
ˈshäg-əs-(əz-)
: a tropical American disease that is caused by a parasitic protozoan of the genus Trypanosoma (T. cruzi) transmitted chiefly by blood-sucking reduviid insects (genus Triatoma, Rhodnius, or Panstrongylus) and that occurs in both an acute and chronic form

Note: The acute form of Chagas disease lasts for several weeks to months and is marked by mild symptoms (such as fever, fatigue, or swelling at the infection site) or rarely by serious symptoms (such as myocarditis or meningoencephalitis) but is often asymptomatic. The acute form may sometimes progress years later to a chronic form characterized especially by cardiac and gastrointestinal complications (such as cardiomyopathy, irregular heart rhythm, and enlargement of the colon or esophagus).

called also American trypanosomiasis

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