Researchers Warn Chagas Disease-Carrying Insects Have a “Secure Foothold in the U.S.”

Despite their cute-sounding name, kissing bugs are nothing to get lovey-dovey about. A year ago, entomologists sounded the alarm that the small, flat insects were beginning to push into new habitats beyond the south and southwest, where they’re most commonly sighted.

Unlike other spreading pests like the spotted lanternfly, kissing bugs are tiny blood-suckers that can seriously endanger any humans, pets, or animals they happen to bite. And now, researchers are saying these insects—which are often carriers of the potentially fatal Chagas disease—have developed a “secure foothold” in the U.S.

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Kissing bugs are known carriers of a dangerous parasite.

Part of the reason for scientists’ concern is that getting bitten by one of these insects can cause a lot more than just itching or pain.

Kissing bugs often carry a parasite known as Trypanosoma cruzi, which spreads through their droppings, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If these feces enter the body through the bite wound, another cut, or via someone’s eyes or mouth, it can lead to a very serious chronic infection known as Chagas disease.

In its earliest phases, the infection can be hard to spot, even in medical tests, presenting itself in the following weeks or months with mild symptoms such as fever, fatigue, achiness, headache, rash, loss of appetite, and digestive issues.

It can also cause a specific reaction known as “Romaña’s sign” when it enters through the eyes, which is the sudden, intense swelling of the eyelid, per the CDC.

Patients who don’t receive treatment or miss the symptoms can then slip into the chronic phase of Chagas disease, which can last for years or indefinitely. Roughly 20 to 30 percent of those infected can develop more serious digestive issues, such as an enlarged esophagus or colon (complicating eating or going to the bathroom). In the worst cases, they may also develop serious heart issues, including an enlarged heart, changed heart rate, heart failure, and even sudden death.

The infection isn’t spread from person to person like the flu or a cold, nor can a human pick it up from casual contact with animals carrying the parasite. However, the CDC warns that mothers can sometimes unknowingly pass T. cruzi to their children while breastfeeding if blood from a crack or cut on the nipple contaminates the breastmilk.

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Scientists say Chagas is a persistent problem stateside.

While the disease is most common in Central and South America, the infection isn’t entirely uncommon stateside. Roughly 280,000 people living in the U.S. are thought to have Chagas disease, which often goes undiagnosed due to difficulties in detecting it in blood tests or a lack of persistent symptoms.

But now, a team of researchers is warning that the parasite-carrying bugs are becoming so common in some places that it’s time to start taking prevention tactics more seriously.

The new data comes from a 10-year joint study conducted by scientists at the University of Florida and Texas A&M University, published on July 7 in the Public Library of Science Neglected Tropical Diseases. In it, the team collected over 300 kissing bugs from across 23 Florida counties, of which more than 30 percent were found in homes.

Results showed that 30 percent of the insects they collected (from about half of the counties overall) were carriers for T. cruzi. After analyzing their stomachs, they also found that the majority of bugs found within homes had fed on human blood, while insects found outdoors had been feeding on animals. The researchers said this supports the theory that kissing bugs are an active and growing threat to public health.

“We’ve done the groundwork to show that we have a vector in our state that is harboring a parasite, invading homes and feeding on humans and our pets,” Norman L. Beatty, MD, the study’s co-first author and member of the University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute (EPI), said in a press release.

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Researchers are making progress in testing for the parasite.

At the same time, there have been steps forward in detecting and treating the disease early on.

In a June 24 press release, scientists at the University of Georgia’s Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases announced they had developed the first test capable of determining whether or not Chagas disease treatment had been effective in infected patients.

The team explains that a robust immune system response has made it difficult to test a patient for the parasite, with existing tests sometimes producing both positive and negative results from the same person due to low levels of T. cruzi in the bloodstream.

Using macaque monkeys (whose immune response to the parasite is similar to that of humans and dogs) over a 12-month monitoring period, the scientists were able to pick up T. cruzi in blood samples accurately. The same results were found when blood samples from humans and canines were tested.

“This test of cure is a real game changer for drug treatment studies,” Brooke White, lead researcher of the study, said in a press release. “We are already working with other research groups in hopes of creating a quicker and cheaper method of testing parasite load in their drug treatment studies in macaques, dogs, and humans.”

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Here’s how you can avoid Chagas.

While the latest study points out the inherent danger of Chagas disease spreading in the U.S., the team says there are some relatively simple ways to help protect yourself.

Just like you’d do with any other pest, checking your home for possible entry points can be significantly helpful, as well as ensuring you’re not providing an environment for them to thrive.

“Don’t keep those wood piles right next to your house. Don’t keep them right next to where your dog sleeps, I think that’s a huge part of it,” EPI member Samantha Wisely, PhD, said in a press release. “That’s the integrated part, not just using pesticides and insecticides. … Habitat management, as well as changing your behavior.”

Another researcher on the team added that new construction encroaching on the bugs’ natural habitats will likely increase the likelihood of infection, making awareness all the more essential.