Although associated with Central and South America, and once exclusive to those regions, Chagas disease has begun to spread around the world. Symptoms are typically mild to begin with, and may remain so for many, but can develop into life-threatening conditions such as heart failure.
The infection is linked to an insect known as a triatomine or kissing bug, which often lives in the wall and roof spaces of poorly-built homes.
The bugs are nocturnal, biting exposed areas of skin and defecating nearby while people sleep, and the infection they carry is passed on when faeces are unknowingly wiped into the open wounds or into a person’s eyes or ears. Consumption of the bugs and faeces, for example in unpasteurised juices, can also cause people to pick up the disease.
The World Health Organisation estimates that between six and seven million people around the world are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease, resulting in 12,000 deaths every year.
Although reports of the disease in the UK are rare, it is believed that thousands of people across the country could be infected without knowing, especially if they have been in contact with the bugs while living in or visiting other countries.
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“Chagas disease is particularly distressing, living inside its human host who is often completely unaware until it is too late,” said Dr Manu De Rycker, Head of Pathogen Biology within Dundee’s School of Life Sciences.
“Current treatments remain very poor, require to be taken over a period of 60 days, and can have significant side effects, including skin rashes, nausea, diarrhoea, weight loss and neurological issues. Doctors do not like prescribing them and patients do not like taking them, so there is clearly a need for new treatments.
“However, drug discovery is a long and complex process. Here at Dundee, we have made substantial progress in recent years in learning about how to develop treatments for Chagas disease and this is knowledge that will be crucial as we begin this new research.
“Our intention is to identify a preclinical candidate – a molecule with potential to go into human trials – and which can hopefully form the basis of new treatments that will help alleviate the suffering that Chagas disease inflicts on some of the world’s poorest populations.
“The general public may consider Scotland an unlikely place to develop a preclinical candidate for a tropical condition, but we are known throughout the world as leaders in this field.
“While it is starting to make its presence known outside of its traditional stronghold in the Americas, the spread of Chagas disease remains slow. However, it is a disease that may become increasingly prevalent in the decades to come and there remains an urgent need to help those people already affected or living under its shadow.”
