Los Angles Times
Called Chagas, it is turning up in blood supply and organ donors
LOS ANGELES — A little-known and potentially deadly parasite from Latin America has become one of the latest threats to the blood and organ supplies in the United States, especially in Los Angeles, where many donors have traveled to affected countries, health officials say.
The parasite, generally passed to humans from a blood-sucking insect that looks like a striped cockroach, can feed over years on tissues of the heart and gastro-intestinal tract. After decades, tissues can be eroded so much that the organs fail.
Posted by tyne at March 16, 2007