Population movements, borders, and Chagas disease

Abstract

Currently, Chagas disease is a complex global health problem with local and global implications. In the present article, we approach this complexity from the perspective of human mobility and its effects on people’s health in places of origin and in transit and destination. We raise key concepts such as human mobility - understood as a possible socio-structural and economic determination of health -, the associated social and institutional barriers and the processes of social exclusion related to Chagas disease. We also propose what we identify as emerging opportunities from the perspective of health as a right. Finally, we propose strategies aimed at addressing Chagas disease from a multidimensional and intersectional perspective in complex, diverse and interconnected territories through migration.

Serosurvey of Trypanosoma cruzi in persons experiencing homelessness and shelter workers of Brazil

“…Chagas disease has been included among the neglected diseases worldwide, with ∼6-7 million people globally affected, with 20-30% cardiomyopathy and death rates (2). Originally restricted to rural endemic Latin American areas, Chagas cases have been since reported in several urban areas of the Americas including Canada as well as the African, Eastern Mediterranean, European, and Western Pacific countries, associated with environmental changes and increased human mobility (3). In Latin America, established endemic areas have covered 21 countries, with ∼100 million exposed individuals (2).…”

“Casas de Fuego”: reflexiones sobre su utilización como recurso educativo para abordar la problemática de Chagas en la actualidad

“…Este trabajo reveló que las/os estudiantes, en general, consideraron que existen personas infectadas con Trypanosoma cruzi sólo en las provincias donde existe transmisión vectorial activa (provincias del Gran Chaco) y minimizaron la importancia cuantitativa del Chagas en el país. Estas representaciones dominantes se corresponden con una "cara" del Chagas asociada al mundo rural, simbolizada por la familia campesina y la vivienda, infestada de triatominos, en zonas marcadas por la pobreza y la exclusión (23). Esta "cara" tradicional del Chagas complejizando y complejizando continuamente y remite a las características del capitalismo mundial global, con las migraciones rural-urbana e internacionales como una de sus consecuencias (24).…”