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There are different stages that a person infected with Chagas disease may go through-although once infected they have the disease for life.  These include the acute, intermediate (a subset of the chronic stage) and chronic stages.  The acute stage occurs initially after the person is infected.  The first sign is a sore that develops around the bug bite (Vines, 2).  Once the parasite has invaded the immune system, symptoms such as “fever, malaise, and swelling may develop” (Vines, 2). If the patient survives this phase and becomes healthy, they will move into the intermediate phase.  The person remains in this phase as long as no organ damage is detected.  The majority of patients remain in this phase for the duration of their lives (Moncayo et al., 17).