Chagas disease

noun

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The lab that demonstrated bedbugs’ potential as vectors of Chagas disease got the idea from a paragraph-long description of a study from 1912, says Michael Levy, an epidemiology professor at the University of Pennsylvania who led the 2014 study. Kristen V. Brown, The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2024 By Racz’s desk sits a cardboard box of parasite stuffed animals featuring cartoonish lice, ticks and the protozoan that causes Chagas disease. Hannah Richter, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Carlos Chagas †1934 Brazilian physician

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Chagas disease was in 1911

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Cite this Entry

“Chagas disease.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Chagas%20disease. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.

Medical Definition

Chagas disease

noun
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

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