ABSTRACT
Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is a zoonosis caused by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, named in honor of the Brazilian physician and researcher Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas in 1909, who recognized the presence of the parasite in a rural population [1]. However, paleoparasitology has revealed the presence of the parasite DNA in human mummies more than 9000 years old [2]. This disease is endemic to Latin America, where there are more than 120 species of vectors (insects) belonging to the subfamily Reduviidae able to transmit the parasite. Likewise, this parasite has different life stages together with a great adaptability to survive in different hosts, including various mammals due to numerous transmission routes (vector, oral, congenital, blood transfusion, organ transplantation, and laboratory accidents) that have emerged due to urbanization and globalization. At present, the disease is considered a public health problem around the world. T. cruzi is a heterogeneous parasite with seven subtypes (called discrete typing units [DTUs]) including TcI (TcI-Silv and TcI-Dom), TcII, TcIII, TcIV, TcV, TcVI, and TcBat, a recently identified genotype associated with bats [3,4].
