They’re often referred to as “kissing bugs,” but a bite from a Triatomine can pose a serious health threat. These small insects carry the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Chagas is a parasitic infection caused by a single cell parasite, known as a trypanosome that has the ability to infect the heart often causing severe and debilitating heart disease. Recently, the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, received a grant of $1.8 million from the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation. The grant will fund accelerated development of the first therapeutic vaccine for Chagas disease in humans, in a development program under the direction of Drs. Peter Hotez, Texas Children’s Hospital endowed chair in Tropical Pediatrics, and Maria Elena Bottazzi, deputy director of Sabin product development partnership.
“Chagas disease is considered one of the most important neglected tropical diseases affecting Central and South America, but the kissing bugs are also here in Texas, but so far there has been minimal activity toward active surveillance of the disease,” Hotez said. “This grant will help us create a vaccine that is used as an innovative immunotherapy, administered to those infected with trypanosomes to prevent the development of heart disease.”
Bottazzi said this funding is critical to making a real impact toward understanding and treating this neglected tropical disease.
“This is instrumental funding that will not only accelerate the product development but also close the gaps in evaluating parallel vaccine targets which will allow a higher probability of success,” Bottazzi said. “It will allow to transition rapidly into clinical safety evaluations which will bring the vaccine program closer to making a difference in the field and the afflicted populations.”
It’s difficult to determine when an individual has been infected with the parasite because most patients could go decades without symptoms. About a third to a fourth of those infected will eventually progress to severe heart disease, at times even resulting in sudden death. Dr. Kristy Murray, director of the Laboratory of Viral and Zoonotic Diseases, said it’s hard to pinpoint individuals who are infected because there are no real initial symptoms. Most of the patients being monitored at this point are those who have donated blood to a blood bank and tested positive.
“With the current studies being done, we’ll better understand the real at-risk population and formulate screening around that,” Murray said. Chagas disease is one of the most common diseases of people living in poverty in Latin America. One of the real surprises for us is finding evidence of transmission of the disease here in Texas,” said Hotez.
Dr. Murray said in Texas, the affected population also includes people with unique occupational or recreational exposures, for example hunters and campers. She said this isn’t to sound the alarm, but to be aware to take precautions such as staying inside in shelters or a tent to avoid the creatures that feed at night.
Ultimately, the Chagas disease vaccine could benefit up to 10 million people living with Chagas disease in the Western Hemisphere. Hotez hopes with the help of the Kleberg grant, the vaccine will be ready for clinical testing within the next few years.
