newjerseynewsroom.com

BY TERI GATTO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Experts have compared Chagas, a tropical disease spread by insects, to the HIV virus.

An article published in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases estimates that more than 10 million people living in the Americas are currently suffering from the disease.

"Endemic Chagas disease has emerged as an important health disparity in the Americas," the article states. "As a result, we face a situation in both Latin America and the U.S. that bears a resemblance to the early years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic."

The Huffington Post reported that like HIV/AIDS, Chagas is a chronic disease that requires costly, long-term treatment and affects primarily people living in poverty. However, while HIV/AIDS affects the body’s immune system and can be spread through sexual contact, Chagas affects the heart and digestive organs and is caused by a parasite spread by the bite of reduviid insects, also known as kissing bugs.

In addition, people may get the disease by eating uncooked food that was contaminated by the feces of infected insects, and through blood transfusion or organ transplantation. A pregnant woman may also pass on the disease to her baby.

However, according to the National Institutes of Health, most U.S. States blood banks have screened blood for the Chagas virus since 2007.

Chagas, which is not transmitted through casual contact with infected people or animals, is only treatable if it is caught in the early stages. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overall discomfort, fever and swelling of one eye are early symptoms of the disease.