Figure 1.

Regardless of the route of infection, it is critical to detect Trypanosoma cruzi infection early on in order to provide immediate treatment to the patients. It is estimated that treatment efficacy is observed in at least of 80% of the treated acute patients. Lack of detection of the acute phase, or treatment failure lead to disease chronification. During the chronic phase of Chagas disease, most individuals remain in an asymptomatic clinical form, named indeterminate. However, approximately 30% of the patients will develop severe clinical forms of Chagas disease, which often lead to death. The reasons why patients progress from the indeterminate to the symptomatic forms of Chagas disease are not completely understood, although host and parasite factors are involved. The search of prognostic markers of disease progression is a critical aspect for preventing pathology and introducing better clinical measures. The figure highlights three challenges in Chagas disease: better diagnosis, better treatment and discovery of prognostic factors.