What are the signs and symptoms of Chagas disease?
Some people can be infected and never develop symptoms. For those who do, Chagas disease has three stages, each with different symptoms. Acute infection — A few people (about 1% of cases) have symptoms soon after infection. The most recognized acute symptom is swelling of the eye on one side of the face, usually at the bite wound or where feces were rubbed into the eye. Other symptoms are tiredness, fever, enlarged liver or spleen, swollen lymph glands, and sometimes a rash, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and vomiting. Infants and very young children can get an often-fatal swelling of the brain. Indeterminate stage: During the indeterminate stage, about 8 to 10 weeks after infection, infected persons have no symptoms. Chronic infection: Some people develop serious, irreversible damage to the heart or intestinal tract that appears 10 to 20 years after infection. Heart-related problems include an enlarged heart, altered heart rate or rhythm, heart failure, or cardiac arrest. Enlargement of
