Chronic Phase of Chagas Disease
Patients with chronic Chagas disease have lifelong infection in absence of treatment. Spontaneous cure is extremely rare.
Parasitemia levels are low in the chronic phase. Nevertheless, patients with chronic T. cruzi infection are capable of infecting the vector, and can transmit the infection congenitally, via transplant, or transfusion.
Infected individuals who become immunosuppressed are at risk of T. cruzi reactivation.
In the chronic phase of Chagas disease, diagnosis relies on serology. Courtesy WHO/TDR/Crump
