American trypanosomiasis
Prevention
Insect control with insecticides and houses that are less likely to have high insect populations will help control the spread of the disease.
Blood banks in Central and South America screen donors for exposure to the parasite. The blood is discarded if the donor tests positive. Most blood banks in the U.S. began screening for Chagas disease in 2007.
References
Kirchhoff LV. Trypanosoma species (American trypanosomiasis, Chagas' disease): Biology of trypanosomes. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, eds. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2009:chap 277.
Previous Section
Review Date: 09/15/2010
Reviewed By: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and Jatin
M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical
School; Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease,
Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
