The kissing bug, which can be found at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, is carrying Chagas disease.
California is estimated to have the largest number of people infected with the disease, according to Norman Beatty, an infectious diseases professor at the University of Florida.
Chagas disease was only a threat in Latin America, where more people die from the disease than malaria each year.
“It tries to do this at night, you know, that's why it's called the kissing bug because you'll be sleeping and it will invade your home, and it will take a blood meal while you're sleeping in your bed,” Beatty told KNX News’ Karen Adams.
Beatty said it’s not the bite itself that transmits the disease, it’s the feces of the bug that does.
“We really do not know what the true prevalence of Chagas is in California, but we do know that it is there, that the kissing bug vectors are present in California, the parasite is there, and people have acquired this infection in California,” he explained.
Many people who become infected with Chagas don’t know they have the disease until they have a heart attack or stroke.
Researchers say thousands of people in the United States have the disease and don’t know it. Up to 100,000 people in California alone may have it. This is because Chagas disease is usually dormant in the body for years.
“We're bringing light to this because it is a silent killer, and it's been known in Latin America for many, many years, but here in the United States, we're bringing awareness to this because we know it's here and we have evidence that it's being transmitted consistently in certain regions,” Beatty noted.
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There are screening tests available that can be ordered by a physician.
“If these screening tests are positive, it would be important to see an infectious disease doctor or another provider who has experience with Chagas disease for the next set of tests in order to be done, so that way we can investigate whether or not this is impacting your heart or other parts of your body,” Beatty said.
Pregnant women can also transmit the disease to their baby, he noted.
Epidemiologists and medical doctors are calling on the World Health Organization and the CDC to declare Chagas disease an endemic in the United States.
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