A “kiss” from these insects could make you deadly ill if left untreated. Chagas disease, or “kissing bug” disease, is a potentially fatal illness caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by the bloodsucking triatomine bugs. They got their nickname because they typically bite around the mouth and eyes of their victims, according to Texas A&M University.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning about the number of cases in the United States. Chagas disease is now prevalent enough to be considered an endemic, or a regularly occurring disease.
Here’s what we know about kissing bugs and Chagas disease.
Where the kissing bug is being found in the U.S.
Kissing bugs have been in many states since the mid-1800s, according to the Texas Ecological Laboratory. In the United States, there are 11 types of kissing bugs. Eight states have reported locally acquired human cases of Chagas disease: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.
Rural regions of North, South and Central America are home to Chagas disease. It has afflicted more than 7 million people in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, where it is more common, according to the World Health Organization.
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What do bloodsucking kissing bugs look like?
Kissing bugs can grow to about the size of a quarter, with flat, oval-shaped dark brown or black bodies with stripes of red, orange or yellow along their edges.
The insects can be found in rural or suburban areas and usually hide in the walls or roof crevices of houses and nearby outbuildings. They often hide during the day and come out at night to feed on human and animal blood.
A nationwide study program based at Texas A&M University has received almost 10,000 reports of triatomine bugs in the United States since 2013. A little more than half of the bugs carry the Chagas parasite, which can cause disease in humans.
How is Chagas disease transmitted?
If a kissing bug bites and sucks the blood of an infected host, it can become a carrier for the parasite. The insect then passes the parasite through its droppings. If someone scrapes or scratches a bite site, they may spread the disease into the wound, or into their eyes or mouth, according to the CDC.
Symptoms and treatment of Chagas disease
Chagas disease has two stages. The first stage, the acute phase, happens shortly after the infection, usually within the first few weeks. In its early stages, Chagas disease can be cured with antiparasitic medications. The second stage, the chronic phase, occurs over a longer period of time. There is no cure if it advances into the chronic phase, but symptoms and complications can be managed.
Unfortunately, because victims might not show any symptoms of a Chagas infection until months after contracting the disease, many people are unaware they were bitten.
Here are the symptoms to look for, according to the CDC and the Mayo Clinic:
How can I tell if I have Chagas disease?
Lab tests can detect the presence of the parasite using a tiny blood sample. According to the CDC, treatments for the disease include symptom control and anti-parasitic treatments, which eliminates the parasite that causes the illness. There is no vaccine.
CONTRIBUTING Greta Cross/USA TODAY and Alex Perry USA TODAY NETWORK
SOURCE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Health, National Library of Medicine, ScienceDirect.com, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, Texas A&M University, Texas Ecological Labratory and World Health Organization