The paper relied on data collected in Texas, where Chagas disease has already been considered endemic since 2013. <\/p>\n
The disease is incredibly rare, though researchers worry that it\u2019s also underreported, partly because it\u2019s not labeled as endemic in the U.S. From 2013-2023, there were 273 cases of Chagas disease in Texas, according to data<\/a> from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n However, just 51 of those were acquired locally, the rest were transmitted in Latin America and South America, where the bug and disease are more common.<\/p>\n Chagas disease was once thought to be a disease Americans could only contract overseas, but researchers pointed to cases of locally acquired Chagas disease in eight states, most notably Texas, and the presence of kissing bugs in 32 states.<\/p>\n Bexar County had the most <\/strong>locally acquired cases in the state of Texas during that 2013 to 2023 time period, with 11.\u00a0Eighty-nine of the state cases were of unknown origin, meaning it\u2019s unclear if they were acquired locally or from overseas.<\/p>\n Chagas disease is even <\/strong>more of a concern for canines, especially wherever there are larger populations of dogs in outdoor kennels. Texas is the only state where Chagas disease is a reportable condition for canines. Available data shows that from 2013 to 2015, 431 dogs in Texas tested positive for Chagas disease.<\/p>\n Researchers hope that changing the non-endemic label would increase awareness of the <\/strong>relatively little-known disease, open up further research opportunities, better treatment, and spur efforts to monitor kissing bug populations. Gabe Hamer, a Texas A&M wildlife biologist and co-author of the paper, said that the non-endemic label perpetuates a lack of awareness and misconception that the disease can\u2019t be acquired locally among doctors, veterinarians and the public.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople hear the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], they hear the World Health Organization saying that Chagas is not endemic,\u201d he said. \u201cThey spread this knowledge that, \u2018yeah the kissing bugs are here, but there\u2019s no risk of getting exposed locally.\u2019 But clearly that\u2019s not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n What are kissing bugs?<\/p>\n Triatomines, nicknamed kissing bugs or vampire bugs, are penny- <\/strong>to quarter-sized flying insects found throughout the Americas, as far north as Pennsylvania. They can be identified by their orange stripes, skinny legs and cone-shaped heads.<\/p>\n The parasite, known as Trypanosoma cruzi<\/a>, can be present in about half of these bugs \u2014 with higher <\/strong>or <\/strong>lower prevalence depending on the species. <\/p>\n The bugs favor rural areas, often living in wood piles, rock crevices and junk piles. The presence of rodents and canines, animals the bugs feed on, will also attract them. You can find them \u201cwherever a rat is going to be nesting, or a raccoon or an armadillo,\u201d Hamer said.<\/p>\n People who live in very rural areas, or often go hunting or camping, are at a higher risk of encountering the bug. \u201cBut for the average person living more in an urban part of San Antonio, you\u2019re not likely to encounter these things very regularly,\u201d Hamer said.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the good, albeit gross news about kissing bugs: The method of transmission <\/strong>for Chagas disease from bug to humans is quite inefficient and unlikely. After kissing bugs feed on animals or humans, usually biting around the mouth and eyes, they defecate. Researchers believe that the parasite can only be transferred if the person then rubs the feces into the bite, <\/strong>or introduces it into the body through their eye or mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a low probability of actually happening,\u201d Hamer said, \u201cand that\u2019s that\u2019s very different from, say, a mosquito that can transmit things like West Nile Virus or Dengue [fever]. You\u2019d have to have almost 2,000 [or] 4,000 positive kissing bugs feeding on a human before transition occurs one time, before that person actually gets exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n Canines face a greater risk because they sometimes eat the bugs, a much more efficient way for the parasite to enter its host.<\/p>\n What is Chagas disease?<\/p>\n Dr. Duane Hospenthal, an infectious disease expert with the Baptist Health System, is a part of the U.S. Chagas Disease Provider Network<\/a>. Even so, he only sees a handful of cases of Chagas disease every year, and people rarely come to him with major complications.<\/p>\n People almost always find out they have Chagas disease when they go donate blood, he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not one of those diseases that rolls into the hospital, we diagnose and we treat right then and there,\u201d Hospenthal said. \u201cI would guess, if a case of this disease rolled into the hospital in most places in the U.S., it would never be diagnosed, and the patient would probably be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2024ChagasDistributionMap.jpg\")
A map shows which Texas counties have seen cases of locally-acquired Chagas disease from 2013 through 2023, as well as counties where kissing bugs have been found to carry the parasite that causes the disease. Credit: Courtesy \/ Texas Department of State Health Services<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/T_gerstaeckeri_LifeCycle.jpg\")
The life cycle of Triatoma gerstaeckeri, a species of kissing bug native to Central and South Texas. Credit: Courtesy \/ Gabe Hamer, wildlife biologist at Texas A&M<\/p>\n