Was Chagas disease responsible for Darwin’s illness? The overlooked eco-epidemiological context in Chile
Abstract The source of Darwin’s illness has been a contentious issue in the literature for almost 70 years. Different causal factors have been invoked to account for his symptoms, including Chagas disease. The Chagas hypothesis is based upon Darwin’s diary, in which he narrates his experience with k...
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2021
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oai:doaj.org-article:b4cdd4acce9948cc8d360066d0e073582021-12-05T12:08:46ZWas Chagas disease responsible for Darwin’s illness? The overlooked eco-epidemiological context in Chile10.1186/s40693-021-00104-40717-6317https://doaj.org/article/b4cdd4acce9948cc8d360066d0e073582021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s40693-021-00104-4https://doaj.org/toc/0717-6317Abstract The source of Darwin’s illness has been a contentious issue in the literature for almost 70 years. Different causal factors have been invoked to account for his symptoms, including Chagas disease. The Chagas hypothesis is based upon Darwin’s diary, in which he narrates his experience with kissing bugs, the main vector of the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. In this contribution, we examine the consistency of the “Chagas disease hypothesis” in the light of current ecological and epidemiological knowledge of the disease in Chile. According to his diary and letters, during his overland trips, Darwin slept in rural houses and outdoors for 128 days in a “hyperendemic” area for Chagas disease, more than exposing him to kissing bugs. This observation conveys a likely additional source of infection than previously considered, which might reinforce the idea that Chagas disease contributed to Darwin’s manifest physical deterioration.Carezza Botto-MahanRodrigo MedelBMCarticleChagas diseaseTriatomaMepraiaKissing bugVector-borne diseaseDarwin’s illnessZoologyQL1-991BotanyQK1-989ENRevista Chilena de Historia Natural, Vol 94, Iss 1, Pp 1-7 (2021) |
| institution |
DOAJ |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
EN |
| topic |
Chagas disease Triatoma Mepraia Kissing bug Vector-borne disease Darwin’s illness Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
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Chagas disease Triatoma Mepraia Kissing bug Vector-borne disease Darwin’s illness Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 Carezza Botto-Mahan Rodrigo Medel Was Chagas disease responsible for Darwin’s illness? The overlooked eco-epidemiological context in Chile |
| description |
Abstract The source of Darwin’s illness has been a contentious issue in the literature for almost 70 years. Different causal factors have been invoked to account for his symptoms, including Chagas disease. The Chagas hypothesis is based upon Darwin’s diary, in which he narrates his experience with kissing bugs, the main vector of the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. In this contribution, we examine the consistency of the “Chagas disease hypothesis” in the light of current ecological and epidemiological knowledge of the disease in Chile. According to his diary and letters, during his overland trips, Darwin slept in rural houses and outdoors for 128 days in a “hyperendemic” area for Chagas disease, more than exposing him to kissing bugs. This observation conveys a likely additional source of infection than previously considered, which might reinforce the idea that Chagas disease contributed to Darwin’s manifest physical deterioration. |
| format |
article |
| author |
Carezza Botto-Mahan Rodrigo Medel |
| author_facet |
Carezza Botto-Mahan Rodrigo Medel |
| author_sort |
Carezza Botto-Mahan |
| title |
Was Chagas disease responsible for Darwin’s illness? The overlooked eco-epidemiological context in Chile |
| title_short |
Was Chagas disease responsible for Darwin’s illness? The overlooked eco-epidemiological context in Chile |
| title_full |
Was Chagas disease responsible for Darwin’s illness? The overlooked eco-epidemiological context in Chile |
| title_fullStr |
Was Chagas disease responsible for Darwin’s illness? The overlooked eco-epidemiological context in Chile |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Was Chagas disease responsible for Darwin’s illness? The overlooked eco-epidemiological context in Chile |
| title_sort |
was chagas disease responsible for darwin’s illness? the overlooked eco-epidemiological context in chile |
| publisher |
BMC |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
https://doaj.org/article/b4cdd4acce9948cc8d360066d0e07358 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT carezzabottomahan waschagasdiseaseresponsiblefordarwinsillnesstheoverlookedecoepidemiologicalcontextinchile AT rodrigomedel waschagasdiseaseresponsiblefordarwinsillnesstheoverlookedecoepidemiologicalcontextinchile |
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