Contribution to fighting Chagas disease

(Caracas, July 20, 1988).- An agreement between CAF and the Biomedical Research Center of the University of Carabobo (Venezuela) was signed in the CAF headquarters in Caracas by CAF president & CEO Galo Montaño and the rector of the University Gustavo Hidalgo.

The cooperative research program is designed to produce kits to diagnose Chagas disease, which is one of the main public health problems in Central and South America with some 24 million people infected. The disease is especially prevalent in rural areas, although it is now becoming an urban problem.

CAF will allocate US$32,000 to the project. The diagnosis system facilitates handling and lowers costs in relation to existing methods. The diagnosis material to be produced could be marketed if considered suitable by the University which would also be responsible for quality control. The project is coordinated by four professors – headed by Rosa Méndez de Hubsch - from the Research Center, which is part of the Faculty of Health, Aragua campus of the University of Carabobo.

In its industrial production stage, the sale of the diagnosis kits will be a source of income for the university and save foreign currency for the country by replacing imported equipment.