Blood Banks Get New Test to Reveal Fatal Parasite - Chagas disease

“After years of delays, the Food and Drug Administration yesterday approved a test for a fatal parasitic infection that is common in Latin America and increasingly prevalent in the United States blood supply.

The nation’s major blood banks said they would quickly adopt the test for the ailment, Chagas disease, which in Latin America is usually transmitted by the bite of a parasite-carrying insect called the kissing bug, but can also be passed from mother to child or through blood transfusion or organ donation.”

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