This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Chagas disease is a zoonotic disease endemic to Central and South America and the southern US. The causative agent of Chagas disease is the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to vertebrate hosts via an insect vector. Chagas disease is a serious public health issue?it is the leading cause of heart disease and cardiovascular death in Central and South America, and only malaria and schistosomiasis pose greater tropical disease burdens. The disease is estimated to infect 16?18 million people in Latin America, and 120 million people are at risk of becoming infected. About 27% of those infected will develop cardiac symptoms, and 9% of cases progress to gastrointestinal or peripheral nervous system involvement. There are no vaccines to prevent infection, and no safe and effective drugs for therapy. It is estimated that at least 100,000 infected persons reside in the United States, raising public health concerns regarding the safety of blood and tissue banks. At Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (San Antonio, TX) a large, pedigreed colony of baboons, many of which have become infected naturally with T. cruzi, has provided an opportunity to develop the baboon as a primate model for studying the epidemiology, pathology, and genetics of Chagas disease in humans.
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