Physician Awareness of Chagas Disease, USA

To the Editor: The year 2009 was the 100th anniversary of Carlos Chagas's discovery of the disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, now known as Chagas disease. Spread by infected bugs called triatomines, the disease is endemic throughout much of Mexico and Central and South America. An estimated 8-11 million persons in Latin America have the disease (1). T. cruzi infection causes more public health problems with long-term consequences in Latin America than any other parasitic disease (2).