It is the common name for the parasitic disease "American trypanosomiasis", caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and whose main vector is the kissing bug. It is endemic to the tropical and subtropical region of the Americas. The name is in recognition of the Brazilian researcher Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas, who first described it in 1909 and named the parasite 'cruzi' as a tribute to his teacher Oswaldo Cruz. See Chagas disease, Chagas disease.
