World Chagas Disease Day is celebrated on 14 April. The National Institute for Infectious Diseases 'Lazzaro Spallanzani' Irccs recalls the need to keep high attention towards one of the most common tropical diseases.
The screening test consists of a simple blood sample which is analyzed for the search for specific antibodies against this pathology. The test is aimed at people originating from Latin America and is particularly recommended in women of childbearing age in order to prevent the transfer of the infection from mother to newborn. It can be carried out without the need for a reservation at the 'Di Raimondo' Pavilion of the Inmi Spallanzaani from Monday to Saturday from 7.30 to 11.00 by presenting a prescription from your family doctor. In some subjects the disease can cause serious intestinal and cardiac complications even after decades. The disease is among those forgotten due to the absence of pediatric drugs, the lack of drugs approved in Europe, the difficulty of finding diagnostic tests and the progressive reduction of research funds.