Chagas disease can be transmitted by consumption of contaminated food, such as açaí and sugar cane.
Transmitted through contact with contaminated feces of the barber bug, after a bite, Chagas disease may have found another way to infect humans: orally. According to the Ministry of Health, about 1 to 4 million Brazilians may be infected by the disease. “It means that, currently, until 2.4% of our population may be infected”said the Secretary of Health Surveillance, Arnaldo Medeiros. Furthermore, Chagas disease causes more than 4 thousand deaths per year.
HOW CAN ORAL TRANSMISSION OF CHAGAS DISEASE OCCUR?
Consumption of food contaminated with insects or crushed feces can infect a human. Fruit juice, sugar cane and açaí, for example, are some of the foods capable of exposing a person to this risk. In Brazil, pictures like this are being reported more in the Amazon region. “At the moment, Acute cases are more related to the ingestion of food contaminated with barber feces, mainly in the Amazon“said Medeiros.
Other forms of transmission of Chagas disease are through blood transfusion or contamination from mother to child during pregnancy. However, according to the secretary, acute cases of the disease had a drop of 70%.
“Chagas disease can still affect a large population of people, more than 65 million people, mostly in Latin American countries, are at risk for this disease. We have already overcome many challenges, we have already improved socioeconomic conditions, but social inequalities still persist, not only the possibility of habitual transmission, but other forms of transmission, such as oral transmission and the congenital issue”said the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga.
Source: Recreio
