There is no vaccine or cure for Chagas' disease, which is caused by a parasite transmitted by blood-sucking bugs called triatomids. Triatomids live in the floors, walls and roofs of homes in poor, rural areas of Ecuador. When the bugs bite, they leave deposits of infected feces on the skin. If the parasite finds its way into the blood stream, the bug's victim may become infected with Chagas' disease. Children and the elderly are prone to acute illnesses following infection, but most people do not develop Chagas-related health problems for many years.
Infection also can occur through transfusion of infected blood.
While conducting studies at Ohio University in 1992, Grijalva discovered Chagas in the Red Cross blood supply in Ecuador, a problem common in other countries in the region. According to the World Health Organization, blood bank contamination with Chagas ranges from 3 percent to 53 percent in Latin America, far higher than that of hepatitis or HIV infection. Rowland is the lead researcher on the Chagas project and was Grijalva's faculty advisor at Ohio University. After discovering the blood bank was contaminated, Grijalva, Rowland and other researchers in the institute developed a method to screen the Ecuador blood supply for Chagas. Now, less than 0.1 percent of the blood supply is infected with Chagas.