The disease that lurks for decades

The disease that lurks for decades Mundo Sano Chagas disease causes misery in poor communities around the world, and may lead to 10,000 deaths a year. It doesn’t exist,” says Oscar Ledesma Patiño, a pediatric specialist at the Chagas Centre in Santiago del Estero, who has been working on Chagas since the 1970s. “We then called the rest of the family and found Chagas disease in two sisters and one young niece born in Buenos Aires, who was sent to receive antiparasitic treatment.” But it’s not always possible to trace family medical histories across borders. But they haven’t yet been rolled out at the national level, and the Chagas officials in Santiago del Estero are waiting for the green light from the national government. According to Ledesma Patiño, the prevalence of Chagas infection within Santiago del Estero’s sampled blood tests has declined dramatically, from 30% in 2005 to 5% now.