Kissing Bug Warning

[whalesong]

We have these creepy bugs here in HPP, and they feed on you and your pets blood at night. I've been bitten by them, and they itch like crazy. I went to the doctor, and got some cream, for the itch, but didn't realize, just how dangerous they can be, until I seen this article. So, it you see them, kill them ASAP.

At the onset, symptoms of the disease — caused by a parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, which is spread through the feces of kissing bugs — can include fever, fatigue, body aches, rash, diarrhea and vomiting, according to the CDC (PDF). After the initial acute stage, most people enter a prolonged asymptomatic state, during which few parasites are found in the blood, the CDC says. Regardless of symptoms, the disease can be transmitted to others. People are often unaware they have been infected and can know for sure only if they complete blood tests.

Over time, the disease can cause heart failure and intestinal complications
.http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/11/7/-kissing-bug-diseasespreadsinusbutsymptomsoftenmissed.html

[VancouverIslander]

I had a Prof in university who was a specialist in Trepanisomes (although he tended to research T. brucei due to the higher number of deaths caused by African sleeping sickness). T. cruzi is responsible for Chagas disease (aka American Trypanisomiasis). More info on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagas_disease

[Kenney]

I was hoping this was a joke. Not.
Thanks for the heads up.
I hope your're ok.
Was your Doc. able to rule out transmission of the disease?

[missydog1]

Just when I thought I knew all the nasty bugs and crawlers that could inflict misery here. Yikes.

Kathy

[Seeb]

It's been in the third world forever, they also call it the assassin bug if you sleep face down. Usally leaves a little blister where it bites

[whalesong]

I didn't have a blood test, but after reading this article, I will. I do not currently have any of the symptoms. But it's always good to double check.

[steve1]

Are you sure you actually have these "kissing bugs"? We live in mid-HPP and periodically (seasonally) get influxes of hundreds of what look like snout beetles or weevils which seem to like crawling up the ceiling at night. They don't seem to do much and they keep the geckos pretty well fed but they are don't look like assassin bugs. Here's a photo from CDC of the insects that carry Chagas Disease:
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/gen_...es_lg.html

[Kelena]

I get those little beetles in Spring. I think they are called false blister beetles. False, because they don't blister you like real blister beetles.

I agree kissing and the germs spread by it are a problem in HPP.

[Kenney]

This is so weird. One of my household members has been getting blisters for the past 2 or 3 years, and after much allergy testing, no cause has been found. Now I have to wonder if these little buggers are the problem. I've never seen one, and hope not to, but I have seen the painful blisters that pop up on her neck, thigh, belly, face for no reason that we've been able to find. It's usually only one blister, but they're awful, and they take weeks to heal sometimes. They're so bad, the last one left a big scar. I think I should get under the house and spray something to kill bugs and maybe another trip to the Dr. is in order to rule out this new threat. I thought I was aware of all the bugs in HPP too. Wrong.
I've seen a lot of Brown recluse bites on this island and Maui when I was working there. THAT's another mean bug!

[whalesong]

Here's some pictures of bugs that look like the Kissing Bug, but are not. Good research information on this site too.
http://neurosci.arizona.edu/kissingbugphotogallery

Here's how to control the pest suggestions. http://www.animalcontrolsolutions.com/pe...ntrol.html

Here's an excerpt of Melissa Garcia of the Laboratory for Zoonotic and Viral Diseases in BCM's Section of Pediatric Tropical Medicine with the latest on her study of Chagas in Texas.
http://youtu.be/clCzVRdEikI