National Chagas Day in El Salvador

On April 14, International Chagas Disease Day is celebrated with the aim of giving visibility to this disease that affects several countries in the region. El Salvador celebrates, this July 9, the "National Day for the Eradication and Control of Chagas Disease", in order to make the population aware of the danger that this disease represents.

Since 2013, on July 9 of each year, this date is celebrated in El Salvador, declared through decree number 292 by the Legislative Assembly. While the first World Chagas Disease Day was celebrated on April 14, 2020, after 110 years of discovering the disease.

The global celebration aims to give visibility to people who suffer from Chagas, raise awareness in society about this disease and seek the necessary resources to prevent, control or eliminate it.

Chagas disease is a parasitic infection caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite. It mostly affects people living in rural parts of Latin America. It is estimated that there are approximately 300,000 people in the U.S. with Chagas disease. The disease is known as a “silent killer” because the infection can remain dormant in the bloodstream for decades.