Management thumb|upright=0.7|alt=A brown glass bottle of pills, labeled "Lampit (nifurtimox)"|A bottle of nifurtimox tablets Chagas disease is managed using antiparasitic drugs to eliminate T. cruzi from the body, and symptomatic treatment to address the effects of the infection. As of 2018, benznidazole and nifurtimox were the antiparasitic drugs of choice for treating Chagas disease, though benznidazole is the only drug available in most of Latin America. For either drug, treatment typically consists of two to three oral doses per day for 60 to 90 days. Antiparasitic treatment is most effective early in the course of infection: it eliminates from 50 to 80% of people in the acute phase (WHO: "nearly 100 %"WHO. (13 April 2022). "Chagas disease (also known as American trypanosomiasis". Fact sheets.), but only 20–60% of those in the chronic phase. Treatment of chronic disease is more effective in children than in adults, and the cure rate for congenital disease approaches 100% if treated in the first year of life. Antiparasitic treatment can also slow the progression of the disease and reduce the possibility of congenital transmission. Elimination of does not cure the cardiac and gastrointestinal damage caused by chronic Chagas disease, so these conditions must be treated separately. Antiparasitic treatment is not recommended for people who have already developed dilated cardiomyopathy.
Management thumb|upright=0.7|alt=A brown glass bottle of pills, labeled "Lampit (nifurtimox)"|A bottle of nifurtimox tablets Chagas disease is managed using antiparasitic drugs to eliminate T. cruzi from the body, and symptomatic treatment to address the effects of the infection. As of 2018, benznidazole and nifurtimox were the antiparasitic drugs of choice for treating Chagas disease, though benznidazole is the only drug available in most of Latin America For either drug, treatment typically consists of two to three oral doses per day for 60 to 90 days. Antiparasitic treatment is most effective early in the course of infection: it eliminates from 50 to 80% of people in the acute phase (WHO: "nearly 100 %"WHO. (13 April 2022). "Chagas disease (also known as American trypanosomiasis". Fact sheets.), but only 20–60% of those in the chronic phase. Treatment of. chronic disease is more effective in children than in adults, and the cure rate for congenital disease approaches 100% if treated in the first year of life. Antiparasitic treatment can also slow the progression of the disease and reduce the possibility of congenital transmission. Elimination of does not cure the cardiac and gastrointestinal damage caused by chronic Chagas disease, so these conditions must be treated separately. Antiparasitic treatment is not recommended for people who have already developed dilated cardiomyopathy.