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About 100,000 people in the United States are thought to be infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease, mostly through immigration from high prevalence countries or maternal-fetal transmission. Although transfusion transmission is rare, isolated cases have been documented. During 2006, the first blood donor test for Chagas disease was approved by the FDA. The American Red Cross now tests each donor at least once for Chagas disease in order to ensure they don’t carry chronic infection.
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