Despite some progress made in the last decades, Chagas is still the main endemic disease in Argentina, according to health authorities, who assured they were able to continue with actions to reduce its spread despite the spread of coronavirus.
Hugo Arturo Feraud, contagious diseases top official at the Ministry of Health told reporters: "Beyond the pandemic, in 2020 the surveillance of the presence of vinchucas - the parasite that causes the disease - was expanded with the assessment of households and the testing of pregnant women".
It is estimated that the disease affects almost 1,600,000 Argentines, mainly in the impoverished northern part of the country and in cities where migrants from those regions live.
Chagas can be transmitted through the bite of the vinchuca bug; from pregnant mother to child; from contaminated food; and through blood transfusions or transplants.
According to the specialist, more than 20 years of policies have paid off in stopping infections "in nine provinces whereas in five others, vector transmission is at an advanced stage of interruption" and these actions have significantly reduced the number of people at risk of becoming sick.
One out of every three people infected with Chagas can suffer from heart disease and, therefore, be at a bigger risk of developing a serious case of COVID.