The kiss of death Chaga's disease in the Americas - Bastien, Joseph William (University of Utah Press, 1998)
Discovering Chagas' disease -- Early Andean disease -- Jampiris and Yachajs: Andean ethnomnedicine -- The crawling epidemic: epidemiology -- Cólico miserere: enlarged colon -- Bertha: mal de corazon -- Culture and political economy of homes -- Pachamama snatched her: getting involved -- Sharing ideas -- Culture context model for Chagas' control -- Solutions
Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-288) and index
"Chagas' disease has become one of the major public-health problems in Latin America. Current estimates are that sixteen to eighteen million people are infected. It is caused by a flagellate protozoan whose vector is the triatomine or vinchuca bug, locally referred to as the "kissing bug" because of its tendency to lodge on victims' faces during sleep." "Although there is no cure for the chronic stage, the disease vectors can be controlled and possibly eliminated through improved hygiene and living conditions. No longer exclusive to Latin America, Chagas' disease is spreading to North America with the migration of infected bugs, hosts, transfusions, transplant organs, and changes in climate." "The Kiss of Death is a thorough study of Chagas' disease with analysis of research involving epidemiology, entomology, parasitology, pathology, and immunology."--Jacket