THE PARASITE: Trypanosoma cruzi
Infection with Trypanosoma cruzi can cause Chagas disease in humans, dogs, and other mammals. Kissing bugs can transmit the parasite to hosts by biting and subsequently defecating near the site of the bite. The parasites live in the digestive tract of the bugs and are shed in the bug feces. When infectious bug fecal material contaminates the mucous membranes or the site of a bug bite on a mammal, transmission of the parasite can occur. Alternately, dogs can also become infected through the consumption of infected bugs. The parasite can be transmitted congenitally, through blood transfusion, and through transplantation of infected organs. Chagas disease is endemic throughout central and South America, and is increasingly recognized as both a human and veterinary health concern in the southern United States. Chagas disease became a reportable disease in Texas in 2013.
HUMAN HEALTH Impacts
The public health burden of Chagas disease in the US is largely unknown, because most states are not required to keep track of the number of confirmed human cases. Estimates of human cases of Chagas disease in the US range from 300,000 to over 1 million, with particular concern for those living in the US/Mexico border regions. In addition to documented cases in immigrants who were infected in central and South America, there are increasing reports of human cases of Chagas disease acquired in the US.
In humans, Chagas disease manifests in two phases: acute phase and chronic phase. After becoming infected with the parasite, the acute phase can last for a few weeks or months. Some people may never develop acute disease. Acute phase Chagas disease may be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are common for many types of sicknesses, including fever, fatigue, body aches, headache, rash, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and vomiting. Of those who are infected with the parasite, approximately 30% are at risk of developing chronic Chagas disease. Chronic Chagas disease includes cardiac complications and/or intestinal complications, and these signs may not be apparent until decades after the initial infection. Cardiac signs include enlarged heart, heart failure, altered heart rate, and/or cardiac arrest. Intestinal signs include an enlarged esophagus or colon, which can cause difficulties with digestion. Concerned individuals should discuss testing options with their physicians. Treatment of Chagas disease can be difficult, and drugs are available only through the CDC after consultation with a physician.
Wildlife and Domestic Animals-Many different wildlife species are infected with the T. cruzi parasite in nature, and can serve as a source of parasite infection to kissing bugs. Infected animals in the US include domestic dogs, non-human primates, opossums, woodrats, armadillos, coyotes, mice, raccoons, skunks, and foxes. Studies have not been conducted to determine if all these species actually suffer from disease when infected, or if they can be silent, unaffected carriers of the parasite.
CANINE HEALTH Impacts
In dogs, infection with the Chagas parasite can cause severe heart disease, however many infected dogs may remain asymptomatic. There is variation in the degree of complications from Chagas disease that likely relate to the age of the dog, the activity level of the dog, and the genetic strain of the parasite. Cardiac rhythm abnormalities and sudden death may occur, as well as bloat due to reduced cardiac function and inability to properly pump fluids throughout the body. The most common test for canine Chagas disease is a blood test called the indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test. IFA does not test for infection with the parasite, but rather tests for antibodies to the T. cruzi parasite. A positive result indicates that the dog has been exposed at some time in past. Testing for canine Chagas disease is available through the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. Unfortunately, treatment options are not readily available, although some research teams are developing new treatment approaches that are promising. There is currently no vaccination that protects against Chagas disease for either dogs or humans. Researchers at Texas A&M University documented Chagas disease in domestic dogs throughout many counties in Texas.
December 2, 2015 |The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hoft
Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a potentially life-threatening illness caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi). It is found mainly in endemic areas of 21 Latin American countries. The disease is transmitted to humans by contact with feces of triatomine bugs, known as ‘kissing bugs.’
The National School for Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine released a list of facts on Chagas Disease.
According to this prestigious school of medicine there are an estimated 300,000 cases of Chagas disease in the United States today with a high level of cases in Texas. The disease was mostly imported from Latin America.
Chagas, ‘kissing bug’ disease, worries U.S. health officials
Researchers called the disease a “silent killer.”
NEW ORLEANS — In 2012, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston called Chagas the “New HIV/AIDS of the Americas” in a research paper highlighting the growing presence of the “kissing bug” disease in the United States. This week, the same researchers reiterated their concerns over the growing presence of Chagas infections in North America.
Chagas disease — called a silent killer because the parasitic infection is difficult to detect at its onset, with few to no symptoms — has mostly been considered a problem confined to Latin America. But health officials are increasingly worried the disease is globalizing.
Chagas is spread by kissing bugs, sometimes called assassin bugs, blood suckers that often attack the face of vertebrates at night while they sleep. The bug deposits a parasite via its feces. If the parasite enters the body through breaks in the skin and takes hold, it can eventually lead to heart disease, organ damage and premature death if untreated.
In a presentation at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene meeting in New Orleans on Tuesday, epidemiologist Melissa Nolan Garcia and her team of researchers detailed their most recent work with Chagas. The scientists have been tracking 17 Houston-area residents infected with the disease.
Garcia told attendees that at least six of the patients appear to have contracted the disease in the United States. The research team also relayed their analysis of local kissing bug populations in south-central Texas, reporting that half of 40 collected specimens showed evidence of having fed on human blood.
Because of the difficulty detecting and diagnosing the infection, researchers are concerned the disease is too often being left untreated and leading to heart complications in Texas.
“We’re the first to actively follow up with positive blood donors to assess their cardiac outcomes and to determine where southeastern Texas donors may have been exposed to Chagas,” Garcia said in a press release. “We are concerned that individuals who test positive are not seeking medical care or being evaluated for treatment. And even if they do seek medical care, we heard from some patients that their primary care doctors assumed the positive test represented a ‘false positive’ due to low physician awareness of local transmission risk.”
“We were astonished to not only find such a high rate of individuals testing positive for Chagas in their blood, but also high rates of heart disease that appear to be Chagas-related,” Garcia added.
Though experts say the chances of infection in the United States are still extraordinarily low, Garcia and others warn the disease may be more prevalent than previously thought. In analyzing blood bank contributions in Texas, researchers found that 1 in 6,500 donors tested positive for Chagas exposure — 50 times higher than the CDC’s estimate.
December 4, 2015 | by Kelly Rule | News Channel 3
Norfolk, Virginia – A local library branch was not the first place bed bugs popped up in Norfolk this week.
NewsChannel 3 confirmed with a Norfolk Public Schools spokeswoman that a bed bug was found inside a Ruffner Middle School classroom on Monday.
“The school sent me a letter saying they found one, so they sprayed,” says Dorthea Saterfield, a parent of a Ruffner Middle School student.
An NPS spokeswoman says Monday’s sighting is the second one that they have had at the middle school this school year.
She says the first time it was found on a student, so they notified all of the students’ parents. However, this week, since a bed bug was found in a classroom, they only notified the students’ parents in that classroom through a letter on Monday.
However, some other parents tell NewsChannel 3, that is something they all need to know.
“So I can take precautions,” says Patricia Waddell. “Just because it wasn’t in my son’s classroom doesn’t mean that he hasn’t been exposed, I mean because there’s traffic in the hallways, in the cafeteria, in the restroom.”
Other people living in Tidewater Gardens, right across from the school, tell NewsChannel 3 they are worried the pest could have been brought home.
“These units are so close together, once they get in, they’re hard to get out.”
An NPS spokeswoman says the way they inform parents is according to school protocol. She says the classroom was treated, and the students inside the classroom were evaluated.
November 25, 2015 | North Carolina
A health alert from the CDC the agency warns about a dangerous insect with a deceiving nickname. The deadly kissing bug has been spotted in North Carolina and surrounding states. According to Buncombe County Health and Human Services the Kissing Bug, also known as the Love Bug (both cousins to the Bed Bug) carries a parasite that causes the deadly Chagas disease. They often live in cracks and holes both indoors and out. The Kissing Bug, like the Bed Bug, is attracted to heat and CO2 (carbon dioxide) – that is why they bite around your face. If you see a kissing bug in your home experts say you shouldn’t touch or squash it. The CDC says you should put it into a container or bag and fill it with rubbing alcohol. Then take it to the local extension service office to be identified.
Possible “Kissing Bug” sighting in Manatee County
SARASOTA, Florida — Fresh off of a warning from the CDC that the “Kissing Bug” had been spotted in Florida, we now have word of a sighting in Manatee County.
ABC 7 viewer Ian Wann sent us these pictures and the following message:
“I work on University Parkway just East of the construction on the I-75 Exchange and I observed this bug. I saw something on Facebook a couple days ago and remembered that it was called a Kissing Bug and it transmits something called Chagas’s Disease which is fatal. Apparently the bug bites the victim on the face or lips (Hence the name) and defecates in the wound transmitting the disease.
Well, I thought it might be news worthy since the CDC is sending out blast about it and I have not heard or seen it before in Sarasota.”
While we can’t say for sure if the insect in the picture is, in fact, the “Kissing Bug,” (we’re working on getting confirmation) the rest of the details from Wann’s story are correct.
The infected inch-long Triatomine bugs carrying the parasite can pass it through bites. The bites are typically around the mouth and face, which is how they get their nickname “kissing bugs.” Once in the body, the parasite can remain hidden for years, or even decades, eventually resulting in heart disease.
According to the CDC, it estimates about 8 million people are infected worldwide. Most of the infected are reportedly in Central and South America.
Kissing Bug found in Ashland
ASHLAND, Kentucky – Many have heard of the Love Bug, the Lady Bug and Lightning Bug, but few have seen or heard of the Kissing Bug, until now.
The Kissing Bug, also known as the Conenose Bug, have crawled their way into the area, according to the Center for Disease Control.
Reports of the bug have also been reported in neighboring states such as Ohio and West Virginia.
The Kissing Bug received its name from the way it draws blood from its victims, usually in the face region. The bug has been around for several years but is starting to be seen in the more northern parts of the United States. Currently more than 20 states have reported the bug to the CDC.
Catlettsburg resident Rick Stevenson had a personal encounter with the Kissing Bug as he was driving in his wife’s truck on his lunch break.
“At first I just thought it was a Stink Bug,” he said.
After a few minutes of examining the bug he realized it was not a stink bug, but the Kissing Bug. Stevenson quickly captured the bug with a paper towel and placed it in a sealed container. After seeing reports from media outlets he decided to take the bug to the Ashland-Boyd County Health Department.
“I could have possibly saved the whole neighborhood from them,” he said.
While the Kissing Bug is usually a nocturnal insect many are drawn toward house lights or dark areas. The CDC shares that the bugs can usually be found under porches, in brush piles, in woodland creature nests and in outdoor doghouses or kennels.
The CDC also shared that if there is a possibility of the bug living in the house to check under the mattress and in dark spaces like bedrooms and under night stands.
If a bug is found inside a home the CDC asks residents to contain the bug and freeze it for 24 hours and then take it to their local extension agency or health department for species examination.
The CDC also wants residents to be aware that the bug can carry the Chagas disease however, the transmission of Chagas disease from a bug to a human is not easy. The parasite that causes the disease is in the bug feces.
The bug generally defecates on or near a person while it is feeding on his or her blood, generally when the person is sleeping.
Transmission occurs when fecal material gets rubbed into the bite wound or into a mucus membrane such as the eyes or mouth according to the CDC.
While the Ashland-Boyd County Health Department did not confirm that the bug Stevenson turned in was a Kissing Bug, Steve Rudd, Environmental Health Program Manager, said he has been following the reports.
Rudd did share after receiving the bug he call the Frankfort office to ask about it.
“Currently we are not aware of any cases of Chagas Disease in the area,” he said.
Kissing bugs are insects that may be infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. They are commonly known as cone-nose bugs or chinches. Kissing bugs feed on blood during the night, and they are called kissing bugs because they prefer to bite humans around the mouth or eyes.
FOUND A KISSING BUG? Precautions and Procedure
Citizen science offers the opportunity for non-scientists and scientists to work together to collect large amounts of data. This project is currently seeing the help of citizen scientists (like you!) to submit carefully collected kissing bugs from Texas and throughout the U.S. We are interested in learning more about the distribution of different species of kissing bugs, their infection prevalence over time, and their interactions with host species. If you have come across a suspected kissing bug in or around your home, kennel, yard, or other area, we are interested in hearing about it!
HANDLING Safety Precautions
Please do not ever touch a kissing bug with your bare hands! The T. cruzi parasite occurs in the feces of kissing bugs, and their bodies may be contaminated. A glove or small plastic bag may be used to catch the bug to avoid direct contact with the bug. The bug may be stored in a sealed plastic bag, in a vial, or other small container. All surfaces with which the bug came into contact should be thoroughly cleaned with a bleach solution.
KISSING BUGS How to Identify
Kissing bugs can be recognized by their ‘cone-shaped’ head, thin antennae, and thin legs. All of the U.S. species are mainly black or very dark brown, with red, orange or yellow ‘stripes’ around the edge. Their bites are generally not painful (since their goal is to bite and feed without being detected), and they are mainly active at dusk or night. Some of the most common species in Texas are shown here:
Blood Tests Come Back Positive for DEADLY Chagas in 30 States
(according RIPA Positive Map)
The risk that you are going to be bitten by bed bugs, love bugs or kissing bugs is greater than you think. Humans transmit deadly Chagas disease to bed bugs, bed bugs traffic the disease as they feed and defecate in the same manner as kissing bugs and love bugs. For any professional to suggest there isn’t a problem is simply negligent. Even the blood tests that were taken and came back positive for deadly Chagas disease were flawed and the problem may be as much as 50 times worse than expected according to the Baylor University Study. This problem has been underestimated, ignored and gone undiagnosed for decades. Those officials that tell you there is nothing to worry about when it comes to contact were the same officials, in many cases, that said we don’t have a bed bug problem and that bed bugs were not dangerous. Bed bugs not only carry the deadly Chagas disease but they transmit the deadly Chagas disease. Them the facts!
[A. Steiner observation ]
November 30, 2015 | By Kaitlynn LeBeau | WSAZ
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — No, we’re not talking about “mono.” In fact, this isn’t a disease spread by kissing at all. It’s literally an insect, and it has been found in nearly 30 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC.)
The “Kissing Bug” is just one of the nicknames for the triatomine bug — an insect that is about the size of a penny but can be potentially dangerous.
The bug is a blood sucker that got its nickname by biting people around the mouth, eyes and other parts of the face. They do most of their biting at night.
Despite the bugs being reported in several states across the country, Stan Mills, the program manager at the Cabell-Huntington Health Department, says it is very unlikely you will come in contact with one.
Some of the bugs carry a parasite that can cause Chagas Disease which can be potentially fatal. Mills said contracting the disease from the bug is difficult and unlikely.
“Your risk of getting West Nile Virus from a mosquito is greater and we’ve had no human cases in this area,” Mills said. “Your chance of getting Lymes Disease from a tick is greater. So it’s just such a low, low thing.”
The CDC’s website states, “It is important to note that not all triatomine bugs are infected with the parasite that causes Chagas disease. The likelihood of getting Chagas disease from a triatomine bug in the United States is low, even if the bug is infected.”
Mills said so far, no human cases of the disease have been reported in our region.
To get the disease, the bug’s feces would have to somehow be ingested by the person.
“It’s got to feed around your mouth,” Mills said. “It’s got to leave its droppings and you have to ingest the droppings. You know, rub it in or scratch or something like that. Even though that sounds maybe pretty easy, that’s a lot of steps that have to take place for a person to get that disease.”
Mills said the bug is usually associated with low-income housing because of poor sanitation. He said the bugs also like to live in cracks and crevices, much like bed bugs.
If you think you’ve found one of these bugs, Mills says to follow the CDC’s instructions: Do not touch or smash the bug. This can potentially expose you to the disease if the bug is carrying it. Instead, trap the bug in a container and freeze the bug inside the closed container for 24 hours. Then, take the bug to your local extension service, a university laboratory, or your local health department.
Mills said if you call the Cabell-Huntington Health Department, someone will even come pick the bug up at your house for you.
As pictures and articles about the bugs spread on social media, Mills reminds people to go to credible sources like the CDC’s website to find out more information.
“It’s just fear of the unknown I think,” Mills said. “It’s something new, something else to scare ya.”
According to the CDC’s website, you can keep the bugs away by sealing cracks and holes in your home and having your pets sleep indoors, especially at night, to avoid carrying the bugs inside.