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- Photo courtesy Peter J. Bryant Sources National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) These bugs do not carry the parasite that causes Chagas disease, although they are closely related and commonly confused with triatomine bugs.
How it spreads. Chagas disease can spread in several ways, including: Triatomine bugs, also known as kissing bugs, become infected by biting and sucking blood from animals or people carrying the T. cruzi parasite. Contact with bug feces: After feeding, these bugs pass the parasite in their feces.
- Overview
- What are kissing bugs?
- What do kissing bugs look like?
- What are the symptoms of a kissing bug bite?
- Are there serious risks associated with a kissing bug bite?
- What is Chagas disease?
- How are kissing bug bites treated?
- When should you see a doctor about kissing bug bites?
- How can you prevent kissing bug bites?
- What’s the takeaway?
Kissing bugs tend to bite people on the face and near the mouth. They carry a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi, which can develop into an infection.
Triatomine bugs, or triatomines, are native to Mexico, Central America, South America, and parts of the United States. They’re nicknamed “kissing bugs” for a rather unpleasant reason — they tend to bite people on the face and near the mouth. They can bite people on other parts of the body, too.
Kissing bugs carry a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi. They pick up this parasite by feeding on a person or an animal with a T. cruzi infection. The parasite then lives in the kissing bug’s intestines and feces.
If feces containing the T. cruzi parasite get inside your body, you’ll develop an infection known as Chagas disease.
Kissing bugs are nocturnal, which means they come out at night to feed. Kissing bugs usually bite people when they’re sleeping. The bites don’t hurt, and you may not even know you’ve been bitten.
Kissing bugs resemble other bugs naturally present in the United States, such as the Western corsair, leaf-footed bug, and wheel bug.
There are 11 species of kissing bugs found in the United States. Key aspects of a kissing bug’s appearance include:
•a cone-shaped head
•a length of .5 to 1 inch
•a long, oval-shaped body with antennae
•a light brown to black body
Most people don’t have a skin reaction when a kissing bug bites them. The bite isn’t distinctive, either. It looks like any other bug bite, except there’s usually a cluster of bites together in one spot.
People who are sensitive to the kissing bug’s saliva may experience a reaction to the bite. This is usually only mild itching, redness, and swelling. Occasionally, a kissing bug bite causes a severe localized allergic reaction.
If you have a T. cruzi infection, a small hard area may form at the bite site 1 or 2 weeks after you’re bitten. This is called a chagoma. Chagomas look red and swollen.
If the T. cruzi parasite enters your body through the conjunctiva, it may cause swelling of the upper and lower eyelid. This response is known as Romaña’s sign.
In rare cases, a person who’s allergic to the kissing bug’s saliva can have a severe allergic reaction after being bitten. This reaction is known as anaphylaxis.
Anaphylaxis is a life threatening allergic reaction that comes on suddenly. Anaphylaxis can lower your blood pressure to dangerous levels and make it hard to breathe.
Chagas disease is another rare complication of a kissing bug bite. Not all people bitten by kissing bugs get Chagas disease. You only get the disease if infected feces from the parasite get into your body.
After a kissing bug bites you and feeds on your blood, the bug defecates. An infection can occur if the feces enter the body through your mouth, your nose, your eyes, or an opening in your skin. The feces can also enter your skin if you scratch or touch the bite and accidentally transfer the feces.
The first few weeks of the infection are what’s known as the acute phase. Most people have no symptoms or only very mild flu-like symptoms. These can include fever, body aches, a rash, and swollen glands. The symptoms are a reaction to the high number of parasites circulating in the blood.
Symptoms improve — even without treatment — as the number of parasites in the bloodstream decreases. This is the chronic phase. T. cruzi is still in the body, but most people don’t have symptoms.
However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 20–30 percent of people with Chagas disease experience symptoms years or decades later. The symptoms are severe and can be life threatening. They can include:
•irregular heart rhythms that can lead to sudden death
Since kissing bug bites don’t cause any pain, most people won’t need treatment.
If you experience a mild skin reaction, an anti-itch cream, such as calamine lotion, can help.
A severe localized allergic reaction should be evaluated by a healthcare provider, who may treat it with antihistamines and corticosteroids.
If you go into anaphylaxis and have already been prescribed epinephrine, use your autoinjector to administer it (or have someone else administer it) until medical help is available.
See a doctor if you:
•live in Mexico, Central America, South America, or the lower half of the United States, and have clustered insect bites on your body, especially your face
•have seen kissing bugs in your home
•are experiencing symptoms that could be caused by Chagas disease
During the day, kissing bugs usually live in mud, straw, and adobe. These materials are often used to build homes in the endemic areas of Mexico, Central America, and South America.
If you visit these areas, try to avoid sleeping in structures made of these materials. If you do sleep in them, take the following precautions:
•surround your bed with insecticide-coated netting
•spray insecticides to kill the bugs in the area
•apply bug spray to your skin regularly
If you live in a structure made of mud, straw, or adobe, you should also take the precautions above. In addition, get tested to see if you’ve already contracted the T. cruzi infection.
Kissing bugs don’t always cause Chagas disease, but if you think you’ve been bitten, see a doctor. Early treatment is critical to preventing Chagas disease from reaching the chronic stage.
Keeping your home bug-free and notifying a doctor if you have bites or symptoms of Chagas disease can help you stay healthy.
Nov 12, 2020 · Chagas (CHAH-gus) disease is an inflammatory, infectious disease caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. This parasite is found in the feces of the triatomine (reduviid) bug. This bug is also known as the "kissing bug."
Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. It is spread mostly by insects in the subfamily Triatominae, known as "kissing bugs". The symptoms change over the course of the infection.
Chagas disease is an infection caused by the protozoa Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted by the bite of a kissing bug (also called an assassin or Triatominae bug).
Oct 5, 2014 · Chagas is spread by the bite of an insect - the "assassin bug" - which infects people with a parasite. If untreated, this can cause organ damage and lead to premature death. But in the...
Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) is a parasitic infection spread by triatomine bugs, or kissing bugs. Few people have symptoms at first. But over time, parasites can move to your tissues and cause chronic infections, leading to heart and digestive tract damage.
