COVID-19: Implications for People with Chagas Disease

• Main Authors: Ezequiel José Zaidel, Colin J. Forsyth, Gabriel Novick, Rachel Marcus, Antonio Luiz P. Ribeiro, María-Jesus Pinazo, Carlos A. Morillo, Luis Eduardo Echeverría, Maria Aparecida Shikanai-Yasuda, Pierre Buekens, Pablo Perel, Sheba K. Meymandi, Kate Ralston, Fausto Pinto, Sergio Sosa-Estani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ubiquity Press 2020-10-01
• Series: Global Heart
• Subjects: covid-19; chagas disease; neglected tropical disease
• Online Access: https://globalheartjournal.com/articles/891

As the global COVID-19 pandemic advances, it increasingly impacts those vulnerable populations who already bear a heavy burden of neglected tropical disease. Chagas disease (CD), a neglected parasitic infection, is of particular concern because of its potential to cause cardiac, gastrointestinal, and other complications which could increase susceptibility to COVID-19. The over one million people worldwide with chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy require special consideration because of COVID-19’s potential impact on the heart, yet the pandemic also affects treatment provision to people with acute or chronic indeterminate CD. In this document, a follow-up to the WHF-IASC Roadmap on CD, we assess the implications of coinfection with SARS-CoV-2 and 'Trypanosoma cruzi', the etiological agent of CD. Based on the limited evidence available, we provide preliminary guidance for testing, treatment, and management of patients affected by both diseases, while highlighting emerging healthcare access challenges and future research needs.