‘Kissing Bug’ Spreads Disease With Its Poop
Basically, This Bug Poops in Your Mouth to Spread Disease
Gone are the days when ticks, spiders and bed bugs were part of our worst nightmares. A new bug called the “kissing bug” basically spreads disease by pooping in your mouth.
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The official (and not as cute) name of this disease-carrying feces leaving bug is Triatominae, and it bites you around your mouth or your eyes. After biting, the bugs poop near the bite, leaving behind a parasite, which is then rubbed or scratched into the wound.
Although we’ve just recently started to hear more about the insect, due to a Delaware girl being bitten recently, it’s actually been around for centuries.
The Kissing Bug is also typically found in warmer climates and is mostly a concern in the rural parts of Mexico and Central and South America. However, besides the recent Delaware incident, the pests have also been known to make an appearance in 28 states including Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Delaware was not typically one of the states where the bug usually made a home, so researchers are taking a look at how it might have ended up in the state.
Concern surrounding the bug isn’t just due to its unappetizing practice of leaving feces in its victims’ mouths, but also because these bugs can transmit Chagas disease, which can be fatal if not treated. There are medications that can kill the parasite responsible for Chagas, but only if it’s detected and treated early.
The disease is also referred to as “The Silent Killer” because you don’t always have recognizable symptoms. According to the Mayo Clinic, the disease that can permanently damage your heart, intestine, and other organs, and lead to heart failure, an enlarged colon, and other deadly complications.
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The Mayo Clinic website suggests that you can prevent being bitten by the Kissing Bug by using pesticides in the home and insect repellant on exposed skin (obviously not in your mouth). You should also avoid sleeping in houses made of mud, thatch, or adobe, and if you do, use netting soaked in insecticide over your bed when you sleep.
Because the bugs are more likely to show up in rural areas of Central or South America, most of us don’t yet need to start panicking. Getting over the idea of a bug possibly defecating in our mouths might be a little more difficult.
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