Article (Transfusion -- March 8, 2012): The United States Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Study: Evidence for Vector-borne Transmission of the Parasite That Causes Chagas Disease Among United States Blood Donors.
The ALS Association says the average lifespan of someone diagnosed with the condition is between two and five years. More than 50 percent make it past year three. Twenty percent make it past year five. From there, the number plummets. Less than 5 percent make it past two decades.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) usually strikes between the ages of 40 and 70, but there have been cases of it in young adults, children and older people. The average age for getting ALS is 55. ALS is known as Lou Gehrigâs disease in the USA. Gehrig, who played baseball for the New York Yankees, died of the disease in 1941.