Acute Chagas Disease in a Returning Traveler

Yvonne L. Carter Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

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Jonathan J. Juliano Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

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Susan P. Montgomery Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

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Yvonne Qvarnstrom Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

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Acute Chagas disease is rarely recognized, and the risk for acquiring the disease is undefined in travelers to Central America. We describe a case of acute Chagas disease in a traveler to Costa Rica and highlight the need for increased awareness of this infection in travelers to Chagas-endemic areas.

Author Notes

* Address correspondence to Yvonne L. Carter, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine, Greenville, NC. E-mail: cartery@ecu.edu

Authors' addresses: Yvonne L. Carter, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine, Greenville, NC, E-mail: cartery@ecu.edu. Jonathan J. Juliano, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, E-mail: Jonathan_juliano@med.unc.edu. Susan P. Montgomery, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, E-mail: zqu6@cdc.gov. Yvonne Qvarnstrom, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, E-mail: yvonne.qvarnstrom@cdc.hhs.gov.

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