ABSTRACT
We analyzed epidemiologic characteristics and distribution of 492 deaths related to Chagas disease and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) co-infection in Brazil during MarchâDecember 2020. Cumulative co-infected death rates were highest among advanced age groups, persons of Afro-Brazilian ethnicity and with low education levels, and geographically distributed mainly in major Chagas diseaseâendemic areas.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Chagas Disease , Coinfection , Humans , Brazil/epidemiology , Coinfection/epidemiology , Chagas Disease/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) are vector-borne neglected tropical diseases, caused by the protozoan parasites Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma cruzi, respectively. These diseases were circumscribed to South American and African countries in the past. However, human migration, military interventions, and climate changes have had an important effect on their worldwide propagation, particularly Chagas disease. Currently, the treatment of trypanosomiasis is not ideal, becoming a challenge in poor populations with limited resources. Exploring natural products from higher plants remains a valuable approach to find new hits and enlarge the pipeline of new drugs against protozoal human infections. This review covers the recent studies (2016-2021) on plant terpenoids, and their semi-synthetic derivatives, which have shown promising in vitro and in vivo activities against Trypanosoma parasites.