Bed Bugs, Kissing Bugs Spreading Deadly Chagas Disease in US

The Kissing Bug Disease or Chagas disease may have an innocuous name but can cause fatal heart damage. 

More than 12,000 people succumb to the disease annually, worldwide.

It is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which bites near the mouth and worms in the feces of this parasite are what actually cause the damage.

Scratching or rubbing the wound leads to the parasite entering the bloodstream and damaging the heart. In about a third of victims, they damage the organs for decades. 

It is a disease commonly found in Central and Southern America but scientists found during a study that 73 percent kissing bugs collected near residential areas in central and southern Texas were carriers of Chagas. The bugs generally proliferate in mud  and sticks and bite in the night.

People at risk in the US are those who spend a lot of time outdoors in these affected areas. Another source is bed bugs found in houses, which are not build or sealed properly.

"There's a long history of positive bugs in the southern United States and a long history of mammals being infected," said Melissa Nolan Garcia, a research associate at the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine. "It's just that we're not doing enough to look at actual humans." 

The disease is treatable but a lot of  its symptoms are similar to heart disease and difficult to diagnose properly.

Till date only 25 Us acquired Chagas disease has been identified in the country but doctors believe it is  more a case of missing the disease largely rather than non-existence.

Researchers are afraid that the bugs are coming more in contact with humans and also maybe residing in rodents, which can spread the disease from theses areas identified carrying the e bug.

Researchers say more studies need to be done to find how t hey travel and far they have reached and an information program for the medical fraternity to look out for the symptoms for the disease.