Deaths / year
9,000
GBD (indicative unless refreshed)
DALYs / year
230,000
GBD
Pathogen
Protozoa
Post-infectious
Post-infectious syndrome
Persistent symptoms
~30% cardiac / ~10% digestive
chronically infected
Post-infectious syndrome & persistent symptoms
Whether a post-acute infection syndrome is documented and the literature proportion with persistent symptoms.
Documented post-infectious syndrome
Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy + digestive megasyndromes
~30% cardiac / ~10% digestive
persistent symptoms — of chronically infected
Summary
~30% develop chronic cardiomyopathy over 5-30 yr; ~10% develop digestive megasyndromes; ~60-70% stay in the indeterminate (silent) form.
Timeframe
5-30 years after acute infection
Evidence strength
strong (consensus)
Classification
Post-infectious syndrome
Sources: Nunes 2018 Circulation; WHO Chagas fact sheet; Rassi 2010 Lancet
Therapeutic agents by stage
Vector control, prevention, acute treatment, and post-infectious care. Only agents with published evidence are shown by default.
Vector & transmission control
| Agent | Type | Status | Mechanism / role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triatomine vector control (IRS, housing improvement) | Vector control | Approved | Reduce T. cruzi transmission | WHO Chagas |
Prevention
| Agent | Type | Status | Mechanism / role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blood/tissue screening | Prevention | Approved | Prevent transfusion/transplant transmission | WHO EML / standard of care |
Acute phase
| Agent | Type | Status | Mechanism / role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benznidazole | Antiparasitic | Approved | Nitroreductase-activated trypanocidal nitroimidazole | WHO EML / standard of care |
| Nifurtimox | Antiparasitic | Approved | Nitrofuran trypanocide | WHO EML / standard of care |
| FexinidazolePipeline | Antiparasitic | Phase 2 | Oral nitroimidazole (investigational Chagas) | DNDi / clinical pipeline |
Post-infectious phase
| Agent | Type | Status | Mechanism / role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiac & digestive megasyndrome management | Supportive | Approved | Pacemaker, surgery, symptomatic care for chronic Chagas | WHO Chagas |
Associated drug targets (Open Targets): TGFB1, TUBA1B, TUBB, TUBB2B, TUBB2A, TUBB4A
Burden: IHME GBD (indicative seed unless refreshed) · Therapeutics: curated WHO EML / SOC + Open Targets pipeline · Post-infectious data: curated peer-reviewed literature · Ontology: MONDO_0001444 · Updated 2026-07-10. Associations, not a diagnostic test.