Chagas disease is an inflammatory, infectious disease. It is spread by a bug commonly referred to as the ‘kissing bug’, also known as the Triatomine Bug. Up until recently it has mostly just been found in South America, Central America, and Mexico, but is now also found in the southeastern United States. Symptoms can be minor in nature such as fever and headaches, or become as severe as causing heart failure, enlarged ventricles, or enlarged colon. These severe symptoms can occur 2 to 3 decades after the initial infection. According to CDC estimates, as of November of 2014, the kissing bug has infected over 300,000 people with Chagas Disease in the United States alone.
Kissing bugs are blood suckers, like mosquitoes. They mainly feed in the evening hours, just after sunset. They are attracted to the lights in our houses, body odors, as well as the warmth of our bodies. Kissing bugs will feed on humans, as well as animals. Chagas Disease is spread when the kissing bug bites its victim, takes their blood, and then deposits its feces into the open wound.