Chagas disease is caused by a single cell parasite and is usually infecting people through the bite of a certain bug. The is currently an outbreak of Chagas disease in Santa Catarina State in Brazil which seems to be caused by sugar cane juice contaminated with bugs crushed when the juice was made. So far about 20 cases have been reported with 5 deaths.
Source:
ProMED
Comment
Chagas diseases has been much reduced in South America over the past two decades due to extensive control programmes. The infection has, however, a reservoir in wild animals and the bug is present in abundance in the environment so eradication is not possible.
Experimental studies in mice have shown that the parasite can survive the acid in the stomach and infect by penetrating the mucosa in the stomach.
It is not known for how long the parasite may stay alive in sugarcane juice, but this mode of infection is probably rare.
Given the sparse and incomplete information at present, it seems prudent to advise travellers to Brazil and especially to Santa Catarina not to drink sugar cane juice.