Trypanosoma cruzi infection, or
Chagas disease, was discovered more than 100 years ago by Carlos Chagas. Although the
infection kills more than 15,000 people each year, it is still classified as a
neglected tropical disease. Today, this disease affects eight million people in 21 Latin American countries and, due to immigration, is also present in non-endemic countries. In recent years, the size of the immigrant population with chronic imported forms of
Chagas disease has increased in Spain. In addition, several cases of congenital transmission have been reported. Some patients have severe
infection and require specialized treatment such as pacemaker implantation or even
heart transplantation, representing a considerable clinical, social and economic burden, particularly in areas with a large immigrant population. Since the 1960s, the only drugs available for the etiological treatment of this
infection have been
benznidazole and
nifurtimox. Although new, more effective and better tolerated compounds are urgently needed, treatment with these
trypanocidal drugs is recommended in both the acute and chronic stages of
Chagas disease. New strategies for diagnosis and infection control in chronically infected patients have recently been reported, allowing the effectiveness of treatments to be assessed.