Kissing Bug Disease Spreading Fast in U.S.

St. Croix Times Staff

CDC - A potentially life-threatening disease currently considered to be endemic to Latin America has begun spreading rapidly in a number of U.S. states. 

Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi, a parasite that lives in a dozen bloodsucking insects commonly known as “Kissing Bugs.” Up to half of the kissing bugs carry disease, which the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates annually kills 10,000 people worldwide. 

The disease can lie dormant for years which means cases can go unreported. Chagas often only makes itself known when victims suffer serious cardiac issues, including heart attacks and strokes. 

“Most people living with Chagas disease are unaware of their diagnosis, often until it’s too late to have effective treatment,” said Judith Currier, MD, chief of infectious diseases at UCLA Health.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently reported that the triatomine insect - the Kissing Bug - has been found in 32 states. Eight states have reported human infection, including California, where about 45,000 people in Los Angeles County may be infected with the Chagas disease. Hundreds of thousands of people could already be infected without knowing. 

The CDC has recommended that Chagas disease be classified as “endemic” in the U.S. The agency defines “endemic” as having a “constant presence and/or usual prevalence in a population within a specific geographical area.”

The triatomine insect is called the Kissing Bug because it bites people in the face. Once the insect bites people in their face, the insect defecates and deposits a parasite called T. cruzi onto the skin. When the bite begins to itch and people scratch it, the parasite then gets into the person’s bloodstream. 

UCLA Health explains that infected people can experience common symptoms including fever, fatigue, body aches, headache, loss of appetite, diarrhea and vomiting. However, one of the key signs of the disease is particularly severe swelling of the eyelid.      

“Severe eyelid swelling is almost a hallmark of acute Chagas infection,” said Shaun Yang, PhD, a professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

The CDC warns, those who are infected can also risk getting more chronic symptoms, which often affect a person’s cardiovascular system. Between 20%-30% of people who contract Chagas disease could develop serious heart or digestive problems, risk getting an enlarged heart, colon or esophagus, or risk heart failure or cardiac arrest.

The CDC states cases of human infections have been identified in the following eight states: Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and California. 

Cases of Chagas disease found in animals are in these states: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland.