Doctor, Doctor...
By Dave Hall
For all you hypochondriacs out there, Dave Hall continues his regular look at a some of the more unusual medical conditions, as well as some you thought you knew all about.
This week: CHAGAS’ DISEASE (American Trypanosomiasis).
|
Condition – The curiously named Chagas’ is a human tropical parasitic disease, which occurs in Central and South America. It is caused by a microbe called Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to humans by blood-sucking assassin bugs. The name comes from the discoverer of the disease, Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas, who described it in 1909. The disease has two stages, an acute stage after the infection, and a chronic stage that can appear after 10 years or more. Most acute symptoms are very slight, and the disease usually goes after 2 or 3 months, only too reappear in the chronic form many years later. Then, it can lead to heart, digestive tract or nerve damage ending in death in most cases if untreated.
|
||||
|
Contagion – It can't be caught from person to person, but seeing as the transmitting insects are so common, it’s not easy to avoid it. Because of immigration, it’s though that about 500,000 infected people live in the USA.
|
 |
|||
| Danger of death – Chagas’ currently affects 16–18 million people in the region with a further 100 million at risk of getting the disease, killing around 50,000 people annually. |  |
|||
|
Incurability? – Medication is usually only effective when given in the acute stage of infection, although the drugs used can be very toxic. In the chronic stage, it is incurable, although drugs and heart pacemakers for chronic heart failure can help. The best methods of prevention include sleeping under mosquito nets and avoiding blood transfusions – which are often infected.
|
 |
|||
|
Likelihood of getting time off work – You may have years with nothing serious at all, but then it could all go down hill quite rapidly. When that happens, you’ll need time off – and you’ll get it too.
|
|
|||
| Brag-ability – With all those assassin bugs, it sounds like something out of a horror movie. You will no doubt, use this to your advantage when talking to your mates. Either that or your Chagas’ disease will turn into a Shagger’s disease because you’re such a stud. |
|
|||
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------- | |||
 |
Overall ridiculousness – Sounds laughable, but is really quite serious if you go down with it (no pun intended). |
 |
||
More conditions to come soon:
Gout, Cholera and more.
Find more curious conditions in Doctor Doctor. If you can't wait for the next Doctor Doctor, then why not find a Phunny Phobia to keep you going?
Photo: Assassin Bug, CDC, USA
Share this
