Chagas disease is endemic in the Gran Chaco region, which borders Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia. In November 2010, Médecins Sans Frontières began a Chagas diagnosis and treatment programme in Paraguay.

Chagas disease is a parasitic, potentially life-threatening illness. Up to 30 per cent of people infected end up developing serious cardiovascular, gastrointestinal or neurological problems in their adult years if the disease is not diagnosed and treated in the early stages. Diagnosis itself is complicated, and staff or facilities are often not available to carry out the necessary tests.

Boquerón department is in the Paraguayan Chaco, a sparsely populated and semi-desert region in the west of the country. Access to healthcare is poor here and our teams are visiting remote settlements, screening the people for Chagas and giving those infected the treatment they need.  Médecins Sans Frontières has trained health workers in Boquerón to diagnose and treat the disease, and the main laboratory in the regional hospital has been equipped to be able to confirm it. In the last two months of 2010, our staff screened 426 people for Chagas disease.

The “Chagas Bus” arrived in Boquerón from Médecins Sans Frontières’ project in Bolivia, and the team on board has been travelling around schools and villages, educating and informing people about the disease and how to prevent transmission, and encouraging them to seek testing and treatment.

Médecins Sans Frontières has worked in Paraguay since 2010.