The UNDP-World Bank – WHO Program for Research states that, “New basic knowledge about the biomedical, social, economic, health system and behavioural determinants of ill health is essential for improving and developing tools for the prevention and control of infectious diseases. In stimulating the generation of, and making accessible, new basic knowledge, TDR works at national and international levels.” Trypanosoma cruzi is a flagellate protozoan parasite, a member of the order Kinetoplastida and of the family Trypanosomatidae. Despite nearly 100 years of research on the T. cruzi parasite (see figure adjacent), we still understand very little about its dynamics. While there is a treatment for the acute stage (a highly toxic drug), if recognized in time, there is still no treatment for chronic Chagas’ disease, which infects millions of individuals world-wide.

Individuals infected with the T. cruzi parasite will be infected for life, if not treated during the acute stage (diagnosis can take between 1 and 6 weeks depending upon the sensitivity of the diagnostic test used. Possible outcomes are infection with no symptomology, Chagasian cardiomyopathy (which is frequently fatal), or megasyndromes (which primarily affect the digestive tract, are untreatable, and fatal) (Stein, 1990). Facial disfigurement (see adjacent figure), is one common manifestation of Chagas’ disease. More recently, reports of transfusion and transplant-related T. cruzi infection in the U.S. have been reported. The distribution of Chagas disease in the United States includes approximately the southern half of the country. Chagas’ disease, which constitutes the 3^rd largest parasitic disease worldwide, still remains intractable to treatment in its chronic form, and it is increasingly important that we find an Achilles heel for this parasite.

Back to main Scenario page      continue