Experts say Chagas disease is a potentially fatal condition caused by parasites carried by insects called kissing insects, which should now be considered endemic to the United States, and without realizing that this persists in certain parts of the country, more people will suffer unnecessary unnecessarily.
A report on the topic published a report last week in the U.S. Journal of Disease Control and Prevention’s emerging infectious diseases, and the authors said they hope that the growing global focus on new papers means that Chagas can eventually get surveillance, prevention and testing efforts and research funding they deserve in the U.S.
“We're waiting; we're all waiting for people to recognize the disease,” said Norman Beatty, Ph.D., co-author of the report and associate clinical professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine at the University of Florida School of Medicine.
The World Health Organization believes Chagas is neglected tropical disease, and the Pan American Health Organization says it is prevalent in 21 other countries in the Americas, excluding the United States, which is endemic – persistent or usual. Studies show that Chagas is one of the main causes of heart disease in Latin America, which is larger than other insect-borne infections, and even more than malaria and Zika.
Chagas is mostly scattered when the bugs of the Trojan (commonly called kissing bugs) bite people while sleeping. The bug defecates on that biting or a person's face, and the person unconsciously rubs the feces into their eyes, nose or mouth. Feces can carry the disease-causing parasite trypanosoma Cruz.
Chagas can also be transmitted through contaminated food or blood, organ transplants and pregnancy.
Early symptoms may include fever, body aches, headache, rash, vomiting, and fatigue. They may last for weeks or even months after the initial infection.
According to the CDC, about 20 to 30% of infected people will experience more serious problems such as long-term digestive and neurological conditions, heart failure, stroke or death.
If discovered earlier, the disease can be cured with benzolamide or nicoltemox, a drug that kills the parasite. However, due to infecting a person, the effects of these drugs are becoming less and less effective, and most people are still unaware of the disease. The new report notes that many doctors do not think they look for it among patients in the United States.
In fact, some infected people have discovered blood donation after a while, because the United States has been testing its blood supply since 2007.
Surveillance is limited, but the CDC estimates that at any given time, about 280,000 people in the United States suffer from chagas. It is unclear how many diseases are more severe in the disease form or deaths each year.
The new report says scientists have found kissing errors in 32 states. Most blood-sucking insects live in warm southern states, but are likely to spread further away as climate change leads to more loophole temperatures.
According to the latest report, Scientistst has identified at least 17 states with infected mammals, including Virginia possums, raccoons, banded armor, striped skunks, coyotes and wood rats. Veterinarians have seen infections in zoo animals and pets, including cats, dogs and horses.
Doctors reported Chagas cases in humans in eight states: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. There may be more cases, but doctors don’t need to report Chagas infection in most states, the new report says.
Dr. Mario J. Grijalva, professor at the Ohio University Institute of Infectious and Tropical Diseases and director of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Ohio University, said it was “important” to be declared an epidemic in the United States.
“It doesn't matter when you think it's a problem that belongs to others. But when it's a problem that affects people here, people realize that it's a regular disease in the United States is a game-changer, at least in terms of the possibility of public policy and the awareness necessary to properly address this complex problem.”
Grijalva knows for herself how different it is to be conscious and consistent healthy exercise. He recently spent a motorcycle trip in Latin America and news about this situation in Latin America.
Grijalva said that in countries like Ecudor and Peru are in local places, but without the government's efforts to manage it, most people are unaware of the disease. But in Chile, Bolivia and Argentina – all countries with strong health and public awareness campaigns – the people he talks to know about chagas, and many cases are well managed.
“In these countries, a lot of effort has been put into battle against this goal,” Grijalva said. “There is a battle that can be carried out and there are a lot of success.”
Beatty hopes that wider recognition of Chagas in the U.S. will prompt officials to step up surveillance efforts, such as what he has seen in other countries. He also hopes healthcare providers learn to recognize cases as soon as possible and hopes that the United States will protect people from kissing bugs like mosquitoes.
“We have mosquito control programs all over the country, but we actually do nothing about kissing bugs,” he said.
At the same time, people who are designed to keep insects away can better seal their homes, use window screens and spray bugs, he said. However, he has not found any special sprays specifically approved for targeted kissing errors in the United States.
Beatty said that about 30% of kissing bugs appear to be positive for parasites in Florida where he works, and people often send him photos of the bugs and even put the insects in the hospital for testing.
“They are scared,” he said. They have the right to be.
Beatty said he tried to do his best to help his community. “No other doctor is walking around here in his pocket,” he said. But as he gets to know more, he hopes others will step up.
“I’m just alone,” Beatty said. “This is a small team and we have limited resources.”