CDC Warns Tennesseans Of Kissing Bug, Chagas Disease

The CDC reports increased sightings of the "kissing bug" and warns residents especially in Georgia, Texas and the Carolinas to be vigilant of the bug. Technically called a triatomine bug, the insect feeds on the blood and mammals and can carry a parasite in its feces that can cause Chagas disease. Their name comes from the fact that when the bugs feed on humans at night, they prefer the face, specially the lips and eyes.

Chagas is endemic to Latin America, where a different species of kissing bugs live and can find their way into rural households. Take a picture and send the bug to the laboratory.

"Once the bug gets into you, it goes throughout the body and sets up quiet housekeeping...in particular in the heart", Schaffner said.

Yes, the bugs can be found in Georgia, and, yes, the bugs in the US have a proportionally higher rate of carrying the parasite that causes Chagas, said Montgomery, the epidemiology team lead at the CDC's parasitic diseases branch. Early symptoms of Chagas include fever, swollen lymph nodes, headaches, or local swelling at the site of the bite. Most people who are diagnosed with the disease in the United States contract it overseas.

"There has never been documented case of getting Chagas disease in Pennsylvania from a kissing bug", Edwards said.

Surfaces that have come in contact with kissing bug feces or body parts should be cleaned with a solution made of at least 10 percent bleach.

A deadly insect known as the "kissing bug" could be in Green Country backyards. Sarah Hamer, an assistant professor in the veterinary and biomedical school of Texas A&M, said that it is nice for the people to be aware of it, but there is actually no need for them to feel terribly frightened.

They can be found anywhere from under porches and cement to inside animal burrows, chicken coops and outdoor dog houses or kennels.

Kissing bugs can often be differentiated by the pinkish-red markings down their sides. "Basically, what they should do is put a cup over it, slide some paper under there, and then have some rubbing alcohol so the bug could be disposed of". But the health department said it didn't turn out that way.