Brasília - Brazil has become the first country in Latin America to eliminate the transmission of Chagas disease (Mal de Chagas). The Pan American Health Organization has awarded a certificate recognizing that the country has achieved elimination of vector-transmitted infections.

According to the minister of Health, José Agenor Alvares, over the last three years Brazil has spent almost US$50 million (R$97 million) in combatting the Chagas disease vector, an insect popularly known in Brazil as the "barbeiro." The country has also made thousands of blood tests in order to control blood-transmitted infections.

Translation: Allen Bennett