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CHAGAS DISEASE IN PREHISTORY
Trypanosoma cruzi
Múmias
Paleoparasitologia
Paleoepidemiologia
Affilliation
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca. Laboratório de Paleoparasitologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanossomatídeos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca. Laboratório de Paleoparasitologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanossomatídeos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca. Laboratório de Paleoparasitologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Abstract
The classical hypothesis proposes that Chagas disease has been originated in the Andean region among prehistoric
people when they started domesticating animals, changing to sedentary habits, and adopting agriculture. These
changes in their way of life happened nearly 6,000 years ago. However, paleoparasitological data based on molecular
tools showed that Trypanosoma cruzi infection and Chagas disease were commonly found both in South and
North American prehistoric populations long before that time, suggesting that Chagas disease may be as old as the
human presence in the American continent. The study of the origin and dispersion of Trypanosoma cruzi infection
among prehistoric human populations may help in the comprehension of the clinical and epidemiological questions
on Chagas disease that still remain unanswered.
Keywords in Portuguese
Doença de ChagasTrypanosoma cruzi
Múmias
Paleoparasitologia
Paleoepidemiologia
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