Chagas, a tropical disease spread by insects has infected more than 8 million people, most of them in Latin and Central America.
The editorial, published by the Public Library of Science's Neglected Tropical Diseases, said the spread of the disease is reminiscent of the early years of HIV.
Both diseases disproportionately affect people living in poverty, both are chronic conditions requiring prolonged, expensive treatment, and as with patients in the first two decades of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, most patients with Chagas disease do not have access to health care facilities.
Unlike HIV, Chagas is not a sexually-transmitted disease. It is caused by parasites transmitted to humans by blood-sucking insects. The insect, known as the kissing bug bites you on the face. When you wake up and scratch the itch, the parasite moves into the wound and you're infected.
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