There are an estimated 300,000-plus Americans infected with these parasites, with 45,000 in Los Angeles alone.
Chagas disease, an illness transmitted by “kissing bugs,” is now considered endemic in the United States, the University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) said in a Sept. 2 post, citing a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kissing bugs—also known as conenose or barber bugs—transmit the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi to humans, which causes Chagas disease.
The bugs bite humans to access blood. After that, these bugs deposit their droppings containing the parasites onto human skin. If the droppings get into the body, via a cut or through the eyes or mouth, the individual may end up getting infected, the CDC said in a September 2024 post.
For instance, when a person scratches the bite, the parasites may enter the wound and into the bloodstream. The CDC warned that the illness can potentially lead to sudden death in some individuals.
The kissing bugs have been identified across 32 states, with native infections reported in eight—California, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Arkansas, according to the CDC report cited by the UCLA.
The agency concluded there was sufficient evidence to declare that the country is now considered endemic for Chagas disease.
There are an estimated 300,000-plus Americans infected with these parasites, with 45,000 in Los Angeles alone, UCLA said in its post, adding that fewer than 2 percent know they carry the parasites.
According to UCLA, many individuals with Chagas disease remain asymptomatic during the illness’s acute and chronic phases.
In the acute phase, infected individuals may experience severe swelling of the eyelids. Shaun Yang, a professor of clinical microbiology at UCLA, said this is “almost a hallmark of acute Chagas infection.”
Other symptoms in the acute phase include vomiting, body aches, fever, diarrhea, and fatigue. However, since these symptoms could be confused with other illnesses, many individuals fail to determine whether they are infected with the parasites, UCLA said.
The chronic phase, which can last a person’s entire life, presents more challenges, with around 20 percent of impacted individuals developing serious digestive and heart issues, according to UCLA.
If the illness is left untreated, it “kills the heart very slowly,” Yang said.
