Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
La Paz (Agenzia Fides) - Chagas disease is an infectious disease transmitted by the bite of bugs of various kinds. It causes stomach pain, heart disease, and is also the cause of death. In Bolivia, half of the children who are infected with congenital Chagas receive no care because, for cultural reasons, parents oppose. In this emergency, the Brazilian Embassy has just donated 30 000 medicines for 250 children born with the disease. According to the director of the National Program of Chagas disease of the Ministry of Health, in 2013, 67 327 pregnant women underwent controls. Of these, 19,327 were positive to the disease. The test was also carried out on 15,055 children born in the Chaco region, among these 232 were positive and only 130 received medication. That is to say that about 50% of children suffering from congenital Chagas have no access to care.
In some small communities in Chaco parents refuse consent because they fear for the child's life. Currently, local health authorities have engaged in the dissemination of information about the disease. According to data of the National Program for Chagas disease, in Bolivia from 2006 to date 2,581 cases among children aged one to five have been recorded, 23,544 in the age group between 5 and 15 and 58,580 people over 15 years of age. The Government carries out prevention campaigns in endemic areas of the Country: departments of Cochabamba, Tarija and Chuquisaca. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 24/10/2014)
