Kolkata, Nov 17 (UNI) The World Health Organization (WHO) is shifting its focus towards active screening of girls and women of childbearing age to detect the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative parasite of Chagas disease.
Recent evidence demonstrates that diagnosing and treating women of this age group before pregnancy can effectively prevent congenital transmission.
“Identifying pregnant women already infected with the parasite, as well as newborns and siblings, has been a major challenge in both endemic and non-endemic countries” said Dr Pedro Albajar Vinas, Medical Officer, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases.