Veterinary Chagas Disease (American Trypanosomiasis) in the United States

Sarah A Hamer; Ashley B Saunders

doi:10.1016/j.cvsm.2022.06.008

Veterinary Chagas Disease (American Trypanosomiasis) in the United States

Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2022 Nov;52(6):1267-1281. doi: 10.1016/j.cvsm.2022.06.008.

Authors

Sarah A Hamer¹, Ashley B Saunders²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, 4458 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843, USA. Electronic address: shamer@cvm.tamu.edu.
² Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, 4474 TAMU, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, College Station, TX 77843, USA.

PMID: 36336420
DOI: 10.1016/j.cvsm.2022.06.008

Abstract

Veterinary Chagas disease is a persistent threat to humans, dogs, and other wild or domestic mammals that live where infected triatomine "kissing bug" insect vectors occur across the Americas, including 28 states in the Southern United States. Animals infected with the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite may be asymptomatic or may develop myocarditis, heart failure, and sudden death. It is difficult to prevent animal contact with vectors because they are endemic in sylvatic environments and often disperse to domestic habitats. Challenges for disease management include imperfect diagnostic tests and limited antiparasitic treatment options.

Keywords: Canine; Cardiomyopathy; Kissing bug; Triatomine; Trypanosoma cruzi.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Chagas Disease* / diagnosis
Chagas Disease* / epidemiology
Chagas Disease* / therapy
Chagas Disease* / veterinary
Dog Diseases* / diagnosis
Dog Diseases* / epidemiology
Dog Diseases* / therapy
Dogs
Humans
Insect Vectors / parasitology
Mammals / parasitology
Triatoma* / parasitology
Trypanosoma cruzi* / parasitology
United States / epidemiology