Carlos Chagas

Carlos Chagas Carlos Justiniano Ribeiro Chagas, or Carlos Chagas (; July 9, 1879 – November 8, 1934), was a Brazilian sanitary physician, scientist, and microbiologist who worked as a clinician and researcher. Most well known for the discovery of an eponymous protozoal infection called Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis, he also discovered the causative fungi of the ''pneumocystis'' pneumonia. He described the two pathogens in 1909, while he was working at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Rio de Janeiro, and named the former ''Trypanosoma cruzi'' to honour his friend Oswaldo Cruz.

Chagas's work holds a unique place in the history of medicine. Working in primitive conditions, Chagas described in detail a previously-unknown infectious disease, its pathogen, vector (Triatominae), host, clinical manifestations, and epidemiology. Chagas was also the first to discover and illustrate the parasitic fungal genus ''Pneumocystis'', which later became infamous for being linked to pneumocystis pneumonia in AIDS patients. Provided by Wikipedia
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