Kissing Bugs Are Creeping Into Florida Homes--and They're Carrying a Dangerous Parasite

[highplainsdem]

Source: Gizmodo

People in Florida are having to worry about a unique disease-carrying insect known as the kissing bug. New research shows these bugs are often loaded with a parasite that can cause a chronic, potentially life-threatening infection.

Scientists from the University of Florida (UF) and Texas A&M University led the study, published Monday in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. They collected samples of kissing bugs found inside people’s homes, finding that a third were infected with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the cause of Chagas disease. The findings suggest this currently rare infection can make inroads into the southeastern U.S., the researchers say.

Kissing bugs are formally known as triatomines. Their nickname comes from their feeding habit, which involves sucking blood from the vicinity of people’s mouths. Many kissing bug species can potentially carry T. cruzi and spread it to their animal hosts, though only several are known to regularly infest humans. To add insult to injury, the bug typically infects humans by pooping on the bite wounds it leaves behind.

Chagas disease can occur in two stages. There’s an acute phase where people may experience flu-like symptoms and a distinct swelling of the eyelid (this usually happens when the bug bite/infection happens near the eye). There can also be a chronic phase of infection. Most people won’t experience illness in either phase, but up to a third of people with chronic Chagas disease will eventually develop serious health problems, such as an enlarged heart and colon, or even heart failure.

-snip-

Read more: https://gizmodo.com/kissing-bugs-are-creeping-into-florida-homes-and-theyre-carrying-a-dangerous-parasite-2000627551