Chagas disease

noun

Cha·​gas disease ˈshä-gəs- 

-gə-səz-

variants or Chagas' disease

: a tropical American disease that is caused by a trypanosome (Trypanosoma cruzi) transmitted chiefly by blood-sucking insects (genus Triatoma, Rhodnius, or Panstrongylus) and that occurs in both an acute and chronic form

Note: The acute form of Chagas disease lasts for several weeks to months and is marked by mild symptoms (such as fever, fatigue, or swelling at the infection site) or rarely by serious symptoms (such as myocarditis or meningoencephalitis) but is often asymptomatic. The acute form may sometimes progress years later to a chronic form characterized especially by cardiac and gastrointestinal complications (such as cardiomyopathy, irregular heart rhythm, and enlargement of the colon or esophagus).

Chagas disease kills more Latin Americans than any other parasitic illness.

—The Economist

Chagas' disease spreads via insect fecal contamination of its own bite.

—Phil Gunby

called also American trypanosomiasis

Examples of Chagas disease in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Chagas disease symptoms include swollen eyelids, fever, diarrhea and loss of appetite. — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025

Symptoms There are two phases of symptoms from Chagas disease, according to the WHO. — Jennifer Rodriguez, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2025

These include every protein that the human body produces as well as proteins involved in key human diseases, such as Covid, malaria, and Chagas disease. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 28 Nov. 2025

Hayes said this is one reason North Carolina’s Chagas disease risk is low; North Carolinians generally have window screens to keep out other critters anyway. — Eva Flowe may 29, Charlotte Observer, 29 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Carlos Chagas †1934 Brazilian physician

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Chagas disease

• actuaries
• analyses
• anopheles
• antitheses
• apostrophes
• appendices
• catalyses
• distributees
• examinees
• hypotheses
• interviewees
• isosceles

Medical Definition

Chagas disease

noun

Cha·​gas disease ˈshäg-əs- 

variants or Chagas' disease

ˈshäg-əs-(əz-)

: a tropical American disease that is caused by a parasitic protozoan of the genus Trypanosoma (T. cruzi) transmitted chiefly by blood-sucking reduviid insects (genus Triatoma, Rhodnius, or Panstrongylus) and that occurs in both an acute and chronic form

Note: The acute form of Chagas disease lasts for several weeks to months and is marked by mild symptoms (such as fever, fatigue, or swelling at the infection site) or rarely by serious symptoms (such as myocarditis or meningoencephalitis) but is often asymptomatic. The acute form may sometimes progress years later to a chronic form characterized especially by cardiac and gastrointestinal complications (such as cardiomyopathy, irregular heart rhythm, and enlargement of the colon or esophagus).

called also American trypanosomiasis