WHO observes “World Chagas Disease Day” today

World: The international health agency – World Health Organization – WHO today (Thursday, April 14, 2022) observes “World Chagas Disease Day”. It is a disease that one catches with the faeces or urine of a triatomine bug.  

WHO creating awareness about the disease, tweeted, “It is #WorldChagasDiseaseDay. Finding and reporting every case is a key to defeating #ChagasDisease – a potentially life-threatening illness, transmitted via contact with faeces or urine of a triatomine bug found mainly in Latin America region.”

The international health agency, via its official website, stated, “In the year 2022, we are shining a spotlight on – Chagas disease, the suffering it causes & are calling for equitable access to health care & services for everyone impacted by the disease. The theme for the 2022 year is – “finding and reporting every case to defeat Chagas disease.” In many nations, there are low detection rates that are (<10%, frequently <1%) & frequent barriers to accessing adequate healthcare.”  

For the present time, around 6 to 7 million of the population are infected with the disease across the globe, and each year nearly 10,000 deaths related to the disease are being recorded, as per the WHO. 

Around 30,000 to 40,000 new cases of the disease are being reported every year, as per official data. 

WHO stated that “The disease is often termed as a “silent and silenced disease” as the infected majority have no symptoms or extremely mild symptoms.” 

Following the above statement, it added, “Chagas disease is prevalent among poor populations of continental Latin America region but is increasingly being detected in other nations and continents.” 

It is one of the 11 official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with – World Tuberculosis Day, World Health Day, World Malaria Day, World Immunization Week, World No Tobacco Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Hepatitis Day, World Patient Safety Day, World Antimicrobial Awareness Week and World AIDS Day.