Kissing Bug’s Bite Leads To Chagas Disease
Man, here I thought the diseases transmitted by mosquitoes were terrible. The news came out about a rare parasitic disease that leads to heart failure or stroke. This illness is apparently more common than most people realize. An estimated three hundred thousand people are affected. It’s called Chagas which is spread by the kissing bug.
Chagas
The disease, known as Chagas, spreads by the kissing bug. Eight million people in central and South America are infected. But the condition is now in the states. People in Florida found themselves with Chagas.
Chagas, a disease caused by a parasite carried by the kissing bug. This parasite spreads to people and animals through the kissing bug. Also known as the triatomine bug, the kissing bug got this name because of its habit to bite people around the mouth at night. This parasite then makes its way into your body through the wound.
The disease is most common in Central and South America. Also, people in the U.S., Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan have Chagas.
Most cases of Chagas occur following an insect bite. The illness spreads from a pregnant woman to her baby. Also spreads through blood transfusion and organ transplantation. And sadly, through the consumption of uncooked food contaminated with the feces of infected bugs or accidental laboratory exposure.
More than three hundred thousand people now live with Chagas disease in the U.S.
Contaminated
For people living or traveling in heavily-affected countries, the World Health Organization recommends avoiding unpasteurized sugar cane juice or acai fruit juice. Each becomes contaminated with insect feces containing the parasite and avoiding houses with unplastered adobe walls or thatch roofs.
