Chagas Disease, Once Mostly Abroad, Now Established In Calif., Southern US

"California has the largest number of people in the U.S. infected with Chagas disease — between 70,000 and 100,000. Many people do not know they are ill until they have a heart attack or stroke." 

"It’s one of the most insidious diseases you’ve never heard of, but Chagas is here in California and 29 other states across the U.S.

It kills more people in Latin America than malaria each year, and researchers think roughly 300,000 people in the U.S. currently have it but are unaware.

That’s because the illness tends to lie dormant for years, only making itself known when its victim keels over via heart attack, stroke or death."

Susanne Rust reports for the Los Angeles Times September 1, 2025.