Case 12: Controlling Chagas Disease in the Southern Cone of South America

I f ever there were a good example of a problem calling for a regional solution and steady sustained leadership, Chagas disease is it. Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a debilitating and deadly infection that afflicts rural communities throughout Latin America. The poorest people living in rural areas, particularly those with inadequate housing, are the most vulnerable. In the early 1990s, Chagas disease was ranked as the most serious parasitic disease in Latin America, with a socioeconomic impact greater than that of all the other parasitic infections combined.1 An estimated 16 million to 18 million people in Latin America were infected with the disease a decade ago, with 50,000 Case 12 Controlling Chagas Disease in the Southern Cone of South America