Stubborn Infection, Spread by Insects, Called ‘The New AIDS of the Americas’
May 29th, 2012I’ve never heard of this.
Via: New York Times:
Chagas disease, caused by parasites transmitted to humans by blood-sucking insects, has been named “the new AIDS of the Americas” in a lengthy editorial published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Wikipedia: Chagas Disease
Posted in Health | Top Of Page
Disease mongering. This usually means some Pharma company is about to bless us with a new miracle (expensive/patented) treatment.
A brief search finds there to be a critical shortage of the ONLY drug used to treat chagas. Even more interesting is that this drug, benznidazole, has recently been found to be effective for treating chronic chagas for which it was previously thought to be useless. The ‘problem’ appears to be political:
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/article.cfm?id=5546&cat=briefing-documents
http://www.msfaccess.org/our-work/neglected-diseases/article/1647
This looks like a good candidate for the replacement:
There is also some indication that posaconazole may be the most effective treatment for both chronic and acute Chagas disease, showing much better efficacy than Benznidazole.[13] Schering-Plough is currently recruiting participants for a phase 2 clinical trial in Argentina to test its efficacy against asymptomatic, chronic Chagas.[14]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posaconazole
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01377480
There is also evidence that chagas and other parasites can be successfully treated with artemsinins, but they are too cheap and there are many producers:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/j53836060m277277/
More interesting artemisinin information. Note the standard disclaimer. Artemisia & its derivatives have never been shown to have toxic effects since its re-discovery as an anti-malarial in 1970:
[The Sino Med Research Institute does not advocate the use of artemisinin and its derivatives to treat disease. Although it is recommended by the World Health Organization as a treatment for malaria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not currently approve the use of artemisinin and its derivatives for the treatment of any disease. Research on artemisinin and its derivatives and cancer
is still in the very early stage (in 2006). Human use of them should be considered experimental and taking artemisinin or its derivatives and any supplements should be approached with caution. If you are seeking treatment for any medical disease, please consult a qualified health care professional.]
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:0-d1eDBDsFQJ:www.acupuncturetelluride.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Artesunate_edited_030708.doc+&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjfbiCkkXYtkfjkTVXH9k9eeYxWuM6il3dvSiLToQuwn8QOmj59KqAYpOj0VXwhXtCeKDErmBBRPlU51qazY5Y6CAnkhO5LdD5vZMJ6J1NiwwhFkPGbM8gLS-DLgKE9ixiqzAoh&sig=AHIEtbSJreJ1z1hGvrlPU7_Cw2FHJE_kiw
Seeds for Artemisia Annua FYI:
http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X6983&show=all&prodclass=&cart_id=9889507.10003