CDC Reports ‘Kissing Bug’ Disease as Endemic in US

Chagas disease, a potentially fatal condition caused by a parasite transmitted by insects known as kissing bugs, should now be considered endemic in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers Chagas a neglected tropical disease, and the Pan American Health Organization said it is endemic—with a constant presence or usual prevalence—in 21 other countries in the Americas, not including the U.S.

Chagas spreads when triatomine bugs, commonly known as kissing bugs, bite a human while they’re sleeping. The bug defecates in that bite or on a person’s face, and the person unwittingly wipes the feces into their eyes, nose, or mouth. The feces can carry a parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, that causes the disease.

Chagas can also spread through contaminated food or blood, organ transplants, and pregnancy. Early symptoms include fever, body aches, headaches, rash, vomiting, and tiredness. They may last weeks or even months after initial infection.

According to the CDC, roughly 20 to 30% of people who’ve been infected develop more serious problems like long-term digestive and nervous system conditions, heart failure, stroke, or death.

If it’s caught early, the disease can be cured with benznidazole or nifurtimox, medicines that kill the parasite. But the drugs become less effective the longer a person has been infected, and most people remain unaware of the disease. Some people only find out they are infected when they donate blood, since the U.S. has been testing its blood supply for Chagas since 2007.

The CDC also estimated that about 280,000 people in the U.S. have Chagas at any given time.

While the blood-sucking insect mostly lives in warmer Southern states, climate change has caused more bug-friendly temperatures. Doctors have reported Chagas cases in humans in eight states: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. However, doctors are not required to report Chagas infections in most states.