Spring 2020 – Increasing Chagas Disease Awareness in South Texas

The purpose of this project is to evaluate Chagas Disease awareness among residents, local government officials, and healthcare professionals in Hidalgo and Cameron counties and to establish an educational program to increase awareness levels. Chagas Disease, which is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is transmitted to people via bites from “kissing bugs” and 30% of infected individuals will experience cardiac disease as a result of infection. Despite the fatal nature of this disease, our understanding of it remains sparse relative to its burden in the United States. Blood donation screenings in the State of Texas, which began in 2013, indicate that as many as 1 out of every 6,500 state residents are infected. This number is somewhat misleading, however, as foreign-born migrants from Central and South American have much higher rates of infection than the native Texas population. Many of these individuals may be infected before they arrive in Texas, but there is also substantial evidence that foreign-born and native Texans experience infestations of infected kissing bugs in their homes. The first stage of the research would involve conducting interviews, focus groups, and surveys to assess the level of Chagas knowledge among the target population. Once baseline knowledge has been assessed, an education program will be developed in collaboration with local health entities to raise the level of awareness in the community. After the program has been in effect for 6 months, additional interviews, focus groups, and surveys will be conducted to determine the impact of the program on Chagas awareness. It is also our goal to coordinate with Dr. Sarah Hamer’s lab in Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine to increase the impact of Chagas education in the colonias.