Discussion 3 Chagas

Please respond to the main discussion and reply to the peer discussion

The spread of Chagas, as a Neglected Tropical Disease, is influenced by environmental and socio-economic factors. Explain how factors influence individuals’ vulnerability to the disease. Discuss measures that could be taken in order to reduce these vulnerabilities.

Peer Discussion

In this discussion I will talk about the factors that influence an individuals vulnerability to the Chagas disease and different ways that could help reduce a persons’ vulnerability. According to PLOS every year about 20,000 people will die from Chagas disease (2013). Factors that put people at risk for the Chagas disease include low income, lack of resources and poor living conditions. Chagas disease only has two treatments available and these treatments were developed over 40 years ago. Not only is this a neglected tropical disease but, it can quickly affect other countries including our own. Due to migration chagas disease can be brought over to different countries and slowly infect more and more people.

Ways that we could help combat Chagas disease is to provide better housing for the needy. According to Grijalva if the needy were able to sleep in an area that could keep out these bugs it would bring down the number of infected people tremendously (2013). If we could also, find a different medication to treat the infected people in a better way than the current treatment being used. With new findings and technology these two ways to help combat Chagas disease are very feasible, unfortunately the disease is often overlooked.

Reference

Mario Grijalva. (2013). Homes for Health. Ohio Universty. Retrieved from: #action=share

PLOS Neglected Tropical Disease. (2013). Socio-Cultural Aspects of Chagas Disease: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002410.