Kissing bugs are in the United States, and the disease they spread is becoming more prevalent, primarily in the southern portion of the country.
You may be concerned with recent media reports about the bug and experts making a case for listing Chagas disease as endemic in the U.S. But the likelihood you will be affected remains low.
Here’s what you need to know about the kissing bug, how to prevent Chagas disease and what to watch for.
Kissing bug is not its real name
The kissing bug is the layman’s term for the triatomine bug. It looks like a flying cockroach, and people may confuse it with a stink bug. Although different species of the insect vary in size, kissing bugs are generally about the size of the tip of your thumb. They have a long, cone-like nose on the upper torso and face, usually near the mouth. They use this to bite, giving them the nickname “kissing bug.”
They’re found in Central and South America and Mexico, but kissing bugs have headed north
Most of the world’s kissing bugs are in Central and South America and Mexico. They’ve also been found occurring naturally in the southern half of the United States, with higher concentrations in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. Kissing bugs have been spotted in 32 states and as far north as Ohio, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Wyoming and Nebraska.
Infected kissing bugs spread a parasite that causes Chagas disease
Some kissing bugs carry a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disease and can lead to chronic heart and digestive system issues. The bugs are active at night, usually feeding on animals such as raccoons, birds, rats, opossum, cats, dogs and cattle. If they encounter humans, they’ll bite them, too.
Kissing bugs usually bite when you’re sleeping. They suck on the blood that pools at the site of the bite, filling their abdomen, which causes them to leave waste in or near the site of the bite. When you wake up, you feel the irritation caused by the bite and may rub or scratch it, accidentally rubbing the parasite-infected feces into the bite.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are about 8 million people living with Chagas disease, mostly in Central and South America and Mexico. Approximately 40,000 people die per year due to the disease. There are over 100 million at risk of infection in endemic areas. The insects get into homes made of adobe, mud or straw through cracks in the walls, often drawn by animals living in the home.
The CDC estimates there are about 280,000 people living with Chagas disease in the United States, but most didn’t get infected here. There have been 29 confirmed and 47 suspected cases of Chagas disease acquired in eight states: California, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas.
The risk of a kissing bug getting into your home is low because most houses are adequately insulated and don’t have cracks in the walls where the kissing bugs can enter. The few infections that occur in the United States most likely take place when people are camping in tents, sleeping bags or cabins.
Kissing bugs aren’t the only way to get Chagas disease
There are several other ways to get Chagas disease:
- Eating the meat of an infected animal or drinking fresh squeezed juice from fruits such as guava or acai berries that have young, infected kissing bugs on them
- Blood transfusion with infected blood
- Organ transplant with an infected organ
- A pregnant woman who is infected can transfer the disease to her unborn child
Chagas disease can go undetected for decades
Most people who get infected with Chagas disease don’t have any symptoms beyond the body’s typical response to an insect bite, such as swelling and redness that goes away in a few days. A classic sign — one eye getting puffy — doesn’t affect everyone. Other symptoms that may be easy to miss are flu-like — mild fever and an achy feeling that goes away by itself. A very small percentage of people develop myocarditis, an acute inflammation of the heart that can be fatal. Only 20% to 30% of patients develop chronic symptoms, and it could be decades before they appear.
The most common chronic symptoms of infection:
- Chagas cardiomyopathy: This is essentially heart failure. The parasites get into the heart muscle and chronically infect it, causing scarring and fibrosis. The heart hardens and no longer effectively pumps blood through the body. This can also lead to weakening and rupture of the heart wall.
- Electrical and pulse abnormalities in the heart: These abnormal heart rhythms can cause sudden death.
- Chronic infection of the gastrointestinal tract: When the muscles lining the colon and esophagus are chronically infected, they no longer move food and waste through the body, causing things to get stuck when you swallow as well as chronic constipation.
There are only two medications to treat Chagas disease, and both are fairly toxic. Chagas disease is considered a neglected tropical disease, and there haven’t been any new medications developed to treat it in the past 40 to 50 years. There are no vaccines available to prevent Chagas disease.
If you encounter a kissing bug, use caution
The risk of getting Chagas disease is low in the United States. We don’t have kissing bugs in every state, and not all kissing bugs are infected. If you live in an area where kissing bugs are found, like Texas or Arizona, your risk is minimal, but it’s helpful to know how to identify them and how to prevent them from getting into your home.
If you see a kissing bug, the CDC recommends placing a container on top of the bug, sliding the bug inside and filling the container with rubbing alcohol. Don’t smash it. Surfaces where the bug has been should be washed with a solution of 10% bleach and 90% water.
To protect your home, repair any damage that would give the bugs an avenue to enter it. Keep woodpiles, excess leaves and animal nests away from your home. Protect pets by bringing them in at night or keeping them in an enclosed area the bugs can’t access.
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