How common is Chagas disease?

Chagas disease is endemic in 21 countries in the Americas, and affects approximately 6 million people. In the Americas, Chagas disease show an annual incidence of 30,000 new cases average, 12,000 deaths per year, and 8,600 newborns become infected during gestation.

How common is Chagas disease in USA?

More than 5 million people worldwide have Chagas disease. In the United States, there are estimated to be at least 300,000 cases of chronic Chagas disease among people originally from countries of Latin America where Chagas disease is endemic.

Where is Chagas disease most common?

People who have Chagas disease can be found anywhere in the world. However, transmission of the disease by kissing bugs (vectorborne transmission), only occurs in the Americas. Most people with Chagas disease became infected in rural areas of Mexico, Central America, and South America.

Should I be worried about Chagas disease?

Also called American trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease can infect anyone. Left untreated, Chagas disease later can cause serious heart and digestive problems. During the acute phase of infection, treatment of Chagas disease focuses on killing the parasite.

How long can you live with Chagas?

If untreated, infection is lifelong. Acute Chagas disease occurs immediately after infection, and can last up to a few weeks or months. During the acute phase, parasites may be found in the circulating blood.

Chagas Disease, Causes, Signs and Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Do all kissing bugs carry Chagas?

Kissing bugs can carry the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which can cause Chagas disease. It's important to know that not all kissing bugs are infected with the parasite, and the likelihood of contracting Chagas disease is low.

Is Chagas easily diagnosed?

The diagnosis of Chagas disease can be made by observation of the parasite in a blood smear by microscopic examination. A thick and thin blood smear are made and stained for visualization of parasites.

What percentage of kissing bugs carry Chagas?

Scientists have found that about 50% of kissing bugs are infected with the Chagas parasite. Kissing bugs are a 'vector' because they can carry a parasite that can make people and animal sick. The parasite is Trypanosoma cruzi, and it causes Chagas disease.

What states is the kissing bug found in?

Most of the world's kissing bugs are in Central and South America and Mexico. They've also been found in the United States in the lower 28 states, with higher concentrations in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. Kissing bugs have been spotted a far north as Delaware, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Can Chagas be cured?

Treatment. To kill the parasite, Chagas disease can be treated with benznidazole or nifurtimox. Both medicines are nearly 100% effective in curing the disease if given soon after infection at the onset of the acute phase, including the cases of congenital transmission.

Why is Chagas a silent disease?

Chagas disease is prevalent among poor populations of continental Latin America but is increasingly being detected in other countries and continents. It is often termed as a “silent and silenced disease” as the infected majority have no symptoms or extremely mild symptom.

How do you get diagnosed with Chagas?

Blood smear is the most common method of identifying acute Chagas disease and is commercially available. PCR testing is the most sensitive option to detect early acute-phase Chagas disease and can be ordered through the CDC.

How fatal is Chagas disease?

About 70-80% of people will remain asymptomatic for life and never develop Chagas-related symptoms. However, an estimated 20–30% of infected people will develop health problems years to decades later that are often fatal.

Who is most at risk for Chagas?

Anyone exposed to the feces or urine of an infected kissing bug (triatomine) can develop Chagas disease. The infection is most common in rural or impoverished continental South America, Mexico and Central America.

Should I be worried about kissing bugs?

The Bottom Line. Kissing bugs can transmit a parasite that leads to a potentially serious illness called Chagas disease. Most cases of Chagas disease occur in Latin America. Although infection directly from exposure to the kissing bug is rare in the US, it is still important to take steps to prevent kissing bug bites.

Can kissing bugs infest your house?

Triatomine bugs (also called “kissing bugs”, cone-nosed bugs, and blood suckers) can live indoors, in cracks and holes of substandard housing, or in a variety of outdoor settings including the following: Beneath porches. Between rocky structures. Under cement.

What does kissing bug poop look like?

Feces may be spread on walls and can be both white and dark, and usually look like stripes. Eggs can be found in wall crevices and are mostly white or pinkish. Consider using an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach including sealing cracks and gaps to prevent kissing bugs from entering your home.

What kills a kissing bug?

The most effective professional products for conenose bug control include wettable powder or microencapsulated formulations of pyrethroid insecticides such as cypermethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, deltamethrin, or cyfluthrin.

What keeps kissing bugs away?

Tips for How to Get Rid of Kissing Bugs

Turn off any unused exterior lights to avoid attracting insects. Move any wood or debris piles away from the house. Use an insecticide spray with pyrethroid to control an infestation.

What does a kissing bug bite feel like?

Kissing bugs can cause patches of bites, often around the mouth. The bites are usually painless, but they may swell and look like hives. Itching from the bites may last a week.

Do blood banks test for Chagas?

Yes. In the United States, donors are tested once and if the result of their test is negative for T. cruzi infection, they will not be tested when they donate again at that blood bank.

Who should be screened for Chagas?

Women of childbearing age with risk factors and infants born to seropositive mothers deserve special consideration due to the risk of vertical transmission. Diagnostic testing for chronic T. cruzi infection should be conducted using 2 distinct assays.

When is kissing bug season?

Kissing bugs are most commonly encountered during their dispersal season, May through July, as adult kissing bugs fly towards homes attracted by lighting (Wood 1950, Ekkens 1981). Some species actively seek out humans and domestic animals to feed on.

Do kissing bugs live in beds?

Inside human dwellings, Kissing Bugs become crack and crevice dwellers like Bedbugs and cockroaches. Kissing Bugs emerge from hiding places at night and attack people in bed, much like Bedbugs will. When looking for a Kissing Bug infestation, generally follow the advice given for Bedbugs.

What is the incubation for Chagas disease?

After the incubation period of 1 to 2 weeks, infected patients enter the acute phase of Chagas disease. Transfusion- and transplant-associated cases may have a longer incubation period, sometimes up to 120 days.