Don’t let the lovey-dovey name of the kissing bug fool you. A smooch from this insect won’t make you blush, but instead, may leave you with a broken heart — literally.
Kissing bugs (also known as triatomines) are vectors for the potentially deadly Chagas disease throughout the Americas. The disease may only result in mild, flu-like symptoms for some infected individuals, while others will end up experiencing serious heart and digestive issues years after the initial infection.
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report that calls for the disease, also known as the “silent killer,” to be considered endemic to the U.S. Here’s everything you need to know about Chagas disease and why it has become such a concern.
How Kissing Bugs Cause Chagas Disease
The parasite that causes Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, is found in the feces of most kissing bugs, which have been identified in 32 U.S. states (mostly in the South and West). Out of the 11 species that live in the country, 9 are naturally infected with T. cruzi. And of these, 4 commonly enter residences, where they will spread the disease (Triatoma sanguisuga, T. gerstaeckeri, T. protracta, and T. rubida).
People tend to get infected when one of these blood-sucking bugs climbs onto their face during sleep, depositing feces as they bite (or “kiss”) around the mouth. Later on, the feces comes into contact with breaks in the skin, the mouth, or the eyes as a person unintentionally touches it, letting T. cruzi enter the body.
The disease can also be transmitted through blood transfusions and organ transplants, from mother-to-child during pregnancy, and from food contaminated with T. cruzi.
Household pets, namely dogs, can also get Chagas disease, often after they ingest a kissing bug or its feces. Symptoms of the disease in dogs include weakness or lethargy and potential heart problems.
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Symptoms of Chagas Disease
Infection with Chagas disease can lead to a two-month-long acute phase of symptoms that include fever, fatigue, body aches, rash, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and vomiting. Although it doesn’t appear in all cases, one distinct trait of the disease is Romaña’s sign, which is when one eyelid swells up after the kissing bug’s feces is rubbed into the eye.
Most people infected with Chagas disease — 70 to 80 percent — will never show symptoms throughout their lives. But down the line, around 30 percent of people who contracted the disease are eventually hit with heart problems, and around 10 percent develop gastrointestinal problems.
Symptoms of this chronic phase — which may pop up 10 to 20 years after first being infected — include irregular heartbeat, heart failure, sudden cardiac arrest, stomach pain, constipation, and enlargement of the gastrointestinal tract, esophagus, and colon.
The acute phase of the disease can be treated with two antiparasitic medications, benznidazole, and nifurtimox. Once the disease reaches the chronic phase, though, these medications won’t be able to cure the disease. At this stage, an infected person may need treatments to tackle any heart or digestive problems that arise.
Endemic in the U.S.
Chagas disease impacts more than 7 million people worldwide, with the majority of cases happening in rural regions of the 21 Latin American countries where the kissing bug is considered endemic.
More than 300,000 people in the U.S. are thought to be infected with the disease. California is a notable hotspot, with an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 cases — experts believe that there could be up to 45,000 people infected in Los Angeles County alone.
In the CDC report, the authors say that there is “low physician and veterinary awareness of possible humans and animal exposure to T. cruzi,” which has led to under-reporting of Chagas disease. Recognizing the disease as endemic to the U.S., they say, may be what it takes to finally bring attention to this public health threat that has gone neglected.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
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