Trypanosoma cruzi, the Causative Agent of Chagas' Disease: A Biological, Cultural, and Economic Review

This e-book provides a detailed review including often overlooked aspects of the human parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. There is no vaccine and infection leads to the incurable Chagas' disease, which is eventually fatal. Pathology is manifested in tissue and neuronal destruction, most commonly leading to megaesophagus, megacolon, and cardiomyopathy; characterized by a severely enlarged esophagus, colon, and heart, respectively. Each of these thirteen chapters features different aspects of the parasite and the disease, for example epidemiology, social stigma, lifecycle contributors, economic impact and more. This book was originally written as an assignment for an upper-class honors seminar, then expanded to meet requirements of a senior thesis, and now edited to make available for anyone wanting to learn more about Chagas' Disease and the unique yet traumatic parasite that causes it.