T. cruzi's Reach Across International Borders

The chagas parasite has traveled from Latin America to Europe and the United States in blood transfusions, organ transplants, and migrants. Moreover, people suffering from this disease effect the lives of other people in distant nations, especially those of North America and Europe. A major effect is that Chagas' disease is a major obstacle to development in many regions.

Chagas' disease has been tolerated in Andean culture for over fifteen hundred years. Evidence of T. cruzi has been found in mummies at Quebrada de Tarapaca, Chile, as early as 600 AD. T. cruzi adapts to environmental changes in order to survive. T. cruzi will almost certainly survive despite the attempts we make to rid it from the earth. We must develop alternate strategies, such as improving housing conditions, eliminating poverty, and increasing forms of microproduction of small-time farmers. For thousands of years, Andeans have suffered from Chagas' disease..

The deforestation of Latin America plays a part in the migration of T. cruzi to other continents. As native land becomes depleted, the vinchucas find hosts that suit them in other areas. These new populations are used by T. cruzi to grow and multiply, and often these people meet the pathogen with less immune defense. As land becomes unusable, the migrant campesino family moves to the cities, where T. cruzi finds new tissue to inhabit.

T. cruzi finds its way to other lands via blood and organ transplants. Latin American countries have been major exporters of blood. The transmission of the parasite is dependent upon the screening of donors. Many countries have not implemented sufficient screening measures. Medical policies in some countries have caused patients to seek organs from other sources. Organs being sold on the black market bring the parasite to unsuspecting people. Additionally, recipients of donated organs are usually under immunosuppressive treatment after surgery, thereby putting them at even more risk of T. cruzi infection. International trade provides new avenues for T. cruzi to spread. Treaties such as the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allow increased trading between North America and its neighbors to the south. Many cases have been reported where T. cruzi has found its way to distant shores via commonly traded goods. An unsuspecting public awaits the the parasite's arrival.