{"id":18870,"date":"2024-12-10T12:29:03","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T11:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world-heart-federation.org\/?post_type=news&p=18870"},"modified":"2024-12-10T12:29:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T11:29:03","slug":"capturing-the-true-picture-of-chagas-disease-to-end-its-dangerous-impacts","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/world-heart-federation.org\/news\/capturing-the-true-picture-of-chagas-disease-to-end-its-dangerous-impacts\/","title":{"rendered":"Capturing the true picture of Chagas disease to end its dangerous impacts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chagas Disease has long been one of the world\u2019s most neglected diseases with a complex prognosis if left undetected and untreated. The <\/em>Chagas Observatory<\/em><\/a> is a new tool aiming to improve patient outcomes, boost medical approaches, and influence supportive health policy. <\/em><\/p>\n

Now found beyond Latin America, Chagas disease manifests via often subtle symptoms and sometimes after long periods of dormancy, even as many as 40 years from the first bite of the insect that carries the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi)<\/em>. The disease can damage the digestive system and diminish the heart\u2019s ability to pump blood, leading to heart failure. It is estimated that 7 million people are affected by Chagas disease, and more than 75 million people are at risk from Chagas Disease. Inherent challenges explain these dire numbers: inadequate access to real data on people diagnosed, treated and monitored; the silent nature of Chagas disease; its low priority within health systems; and low data-capture.<\/p>\n

On one particular annual World Chagas Day (April 14), Chagas patient communities made a concrete request: “Help us know how many we are and where we are.” In response, the Chagas Observatory has been developed by the Chagas Coalition, DNDi and the World Heart Federation, with data collected from seven countries. The digital tool has been accomplished in collaboration with Ministries of Health and civil society organizations.<\/p>\n

Programmes across the globe contributed data available from the past three years of patient care from their respective repositories in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Paraguay, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Available in Portuguese, Spanish and English, the Chagas Observatory offers a snapshot of progress and inter-regional insights to complement data collection and monitoring.<\/p>\n

In addition to quantitative data such as the number of people tested, diagnosed and treated, classified by age, sex and child-bearing status, the Chagas Observatory provides qualitative information. Topics such as the availability and registration of medicines, the use of rapid diagnostic tests, and identification of patient associations, become invaluable resources in the fight to address the disease effectively.<\/p>\n

The Chagas Observatory supports patients and practitioners, highlighting country by country efforts. For example, Paraguay is managing to control vector transmission throughout its territory and is now focusing a large part of its efforts on controlling transmission from mother to infant during pregnancy (\u2018vertical transmission\u2019).<\/p>\n

“The Chagas Observatory captures steps being taken by different countries, the progress made and the gaps to be filled. The tool gives us a fuller picture of who and where we are and where we can advance even further to keep improving,\u201d<\/em> said Dr Vidalia Ramos, Head of the Paraguay Chagas Disease Control Program.<\/p>\n

In Colombia, thanks to the Comprehensive Healthcare Roadmap (Spanish acronym RIAS), an increased population has been tested and diagnosed in areas that, due to years of conflicts, had not been able to access healthcare.<\/p>\n

“Simplifying diagnosis, guaranteeing medication supply, implementing screening for pregnant women at risk and demonstrating that comprehensive primary care is feasible in areas of high prevalence made it possible to reduce the inequity and therapeutic gaps for Chagas disease in Colombia by 40%,”<\/em> said Mauricio Vera, Head of the National Chagas Disease Sub-program of the Ministry of Health of Colombia.<\/p>\n

The Chagas Observatory provides indicators on the implementation of policies and control strategies. The portal shows, for example, if cardiological examinations are carried out at primary care level for those with a positive diagnosis or if the indicator for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and Chagas (ETMI+) has been implemented, as in high-incidence countries Argentina and Brazil.<\/p>\n

Another innovative aspect of the Chagas Observatory is its overview of treatments distributed over a two-year period. As an example, 5 million doses of combined medications (trypanocides Benznidazole and Nifurtimox) are equivalent to 21,000 complete treatments provided worldwide.<\/p>\n

Eliminating Chagas Disease is a sizeable challenge. The Chagas Observatory opens a window to comprehensive data that facilitates analyses of existing testing and control policies. The initiative encourages reflection on barriers to data access and on the response of health systems. Such robust tools for integrated data collection and reporting are a firm step towards a better future for Chagas patients, caregivers, and policy-setters. The platform is open, accessible to all and presented in easy-to-understand ways. The creation of the Observatory is enabling dialogue among governing health bodies and civil society organizations, helping to drive a more coordinated response to affected communities, and benefit overall health.<\/p>\n

www.observatoriochagas.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a> \u00a0<\/em><\/strong>is available to all for sharing on websites and social networks and is the result of wide collaboration involving The Global Chagas Coalition, The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative and the World Heart Federation. <\/em><\/p>\n

The <\/strong>Global Chagas Coalition<\/strong><\/a> is a collaborative alliance for the exchange of experience, knowledge and capacity for action to increase visibility of this problem and the commitment to alleviate the human suffering it causes, with the aim of eliminating it as a public health problem.<\/p>\n

The <\/strong>Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi)<\/strong><\/a> is an international non-profit research organization that develops treatments and access projects for the most vulnerable populations, especially those affected by socially determined diseases.<\/p>\n

The <\/strong>World Heart Federation<\/strong><\/a> represents the global cardiovascular community, uniting more than 200 patient, scientific and civil society groups in more than 100 countries.\u00a0 Together with its Members, WHF influences policies, shares knowledge, and inspires behaviour change to achieve heart health for everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chagas Disease has long been one of the world\u2019s most neglected diseases with a complex prognosis if left undetected and untreated. The Chagas Observatory is a new tool aiming to improve patient outcomes, boost medical approaches, and influence supportive health policy. Now found beyond Latin America, Chagas disease manifests via often subtle symptoms and sometimes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1706,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"event":[],"project-campaign":[],"topic":[257],"class_list":["post-18870","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCapturing the true picture of Chagas disease to end its dangerous impacts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the Chagas Disease Observatory, a vital tool addressing one of the world's most neglected diseases. 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