Parasitic Infections Not Restricted to Underdeveloped Nations; Affects Millions in US : CDC Reports

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention knocked down misconceptions that parasitic disease only occur in poor and developing countries.

In a latest report the federal agency reports that parasitic diseases are not just limited to the poor and developing countries and do occur even in the United States.

 Despite the fact that parasitic infections are found even in the United States, most often they go unnoticed with just a few symptoms. These infections can trigger serious illnesses including seizures, blindness, pregnancy complications, heart failure and in some cases, death.  The infection occurs irrespective of race or economic status.

In this latest report, CDC has focused on five such neglected  parasitic infections (NPI) in the United States as priorities for public health action, based on the number of infected victims, severity of the infection or ability to prevent or treat the illness. 

The five NPI's include Chagas disease, cysticercosis, taxocariasis, taxoplasmosis and trichomoniasis. 

"Parasitic infections affect millions around the world causing seizures, blindness, infertility, heart failure, and even death," CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H, said in a statement. "They're more common in the US than people realize and yet there is so much we don't know about them. We need research to learn more about these infections and action to better prevent and treat them."

According to the statistics, nearly 300,000 people in the United States are infected with Trypanosoma Cruzi, the parasite that triggers Chagas disease and over 300 infected babies are born each year. Also there are close to 1,000 hospitalizations for symptomatic cysticerocosis per year in the U.S. Nearly 14 percent of the citizens are exposed to Toxocara. This parasite causes toxocariasis and can cause blindness.

There are 60 million people in the U.S. that are chronically infected with Toxoplasma gondii-a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. These infections in pregnant mothers lead to birth defects.

What comes as good news is that most of these parasitic infections can be prevented and are also treatable.  But they remain largely undetected and untreated. 

"The perception that parasitic diseases are no longer relevant or important is a major impediment to implementing currently available control and prevention strategies," the authors note. "The NPIs in the United States are part of the global burden of parasitic diseases, and strategies that reduce or eliminate them in the United States can someday be applied globally."

CDC is working to increase awareness about these infections by improving diagnostic testing and suggesting treatment and distributing unavailable drugs.