A Chagas disease experience
My 'good Samaritan' act of the day was to donate a bit of blood. Therefore, I walked into a Lifeblood donor centre — but then, with the flick of a pen and the scan of a form, I suddenly became a risk. A nurse with teary eyes looked at me with sorrow. ..."South American?" she asked. "Si, mami," I replied, feeling one side of my mouth crooked upwards while I swept my eyes over her. My smile deepened as a pervert. "Fuck that," she said and added, "There's a chance - even if you've never shown symptoms- that you might be carrying the Chagas disease with you." The Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite spread by an insect native to the tropical Americas. When the Kissing bug bites you — usually on the face — it also takes a shit. And in that faeces lives the parasite. This disease causes serious heart and stomach complications. It’s not folklore. It’s rural. It’s real. I couldn't believe what I ju...
