On the front lines of Chagas disease: UF medical student tackles a silent killer across two continents

Growing up in the small, coastal town of Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, first-year University of Florida College of Medicine student Rodrigo Alcala-Arana was surrounded by kind neighbors, delicious fried fish, and lots of dancing.

He enjoyed spending time outdoors, learning to spearfish and playing on his family’s farm, where el chipo – a triatomine insect often referred to as a “kissing bug” in English – was common.

But the vibrant city was also home to a deadly and neglected tropical disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and spread through the feces of these kissing bugs. Chagas disease, named after the Brazilian Dr. Carlos Chagas who identified the ailment in 1909, could often go unnoticed for years.