Petana W B
Bull Pan Am Health Organ. 1978;12(1):45-50.
Chagas' disease (American trypanosomiasis) is endemic in nearly all Central and South American countries facing the Caribbean basin. Since 1960, reports from the islands of Aruba, Curaçao, Jamaica, and Trinidad have confirmed the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi, blood-sucking triatomine bugs, and wild animals infected with the parasite. It was also established that T. cruzi, triatomine bugs, infected wild animal reservoirs, and people with a positive serologic test for T. cruzi antibodies are to be found in Belize, the last country in Central America once thought to be free of Chagas' disease.
恰加斯病（美洲锥虫病）在几乎所有面向加勒比海盆地的中美洲和南美洲国家均为地方病。自1960年以来，阿鲁巴岛、库拉索岛、牙买加和特立尼达岛的报告证实存在克氏锥虫、吸血锥蝽以及感染该寄生虫的野生动物。还确定在伯利兹也发现了克氏锥虫、锥蝽、受感染的野生动物宿主以及克氏锥虫抗体血清学检测呈阳性的人，伯利兹是中美洲最后一个曾被认为没有恰加斯病的国家。
