Trypanosoma cruzi: Transmission Dynamics, Epidemiological Shifts and Pathogenic Mechanisms

Dear Colleagues,

Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiological agent of American trypanosomiasis, known as Chagas disease in honor of its discoverer, Carlos Chagas. Highly endemic in Latin America, it is estimated that the disease affects between 4 and 5 million people, causing around 14,000 deaths annually.

Transmission occurs through different routes—vector-borne (by triatomine bugs), transfusion-related, congenital, and via accidents with sharp objects—which contributes to the maintenance and spread of the disease. Despite efforts in vector control and improvements in transfusion processes, the number of cases has continued to rise over the years.

Although some species of triatomine bugs have been eliminated from the domestic environment, temporarily reducing vector-borne transmission, other originally wild species have begun to colonize human dwellings. Added to this are climate change, environmental degradation, and the reduction in wild mammal populations, factors that interfere with the availability of food for vectors and alter their geographic distribution, favoring the invasion and colonization of human dwellings, where they can find adequate shelter and food conditions.

Another factor contributing to the increase in cases is transfusion transmission. The migration of Latin American populations to non-endemic countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania has led to the emergence of autochthonous cases in regions where the vector is not present.

In addition, new modes of transmission are gaining importance, such as oral transmission, resulting from the contamination of food (especially fruits) crushed together with infected triatomines. This route has been associated with severe acute forms due to the high parasitic load.

As a neglected disease, the scarcity of investments in more sensitive and specific diagnostics, in new therapeutic alternatives, and in the development of vaccines limits the prospects for controlling and eliminating the disease.

For this Special Issue, we invite researchers to submit papers that contribute to the understanding of the transmission dynamics, epidemiological changes, and pathogenic mechanisms involved in Chagas disease.

Dr. Helena Keiko Toma
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• transmission route
• climate change
• genotypes
• triatomine bugs
• vector behavior
• chagas disease
• pathogenicity factors