A deadly "kissing virus" is spreading across the United States, including Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed that the dangerous "kiss virus" is spreading in the United States.

Last week, the CDC confirmed that a Delaware girl had been bitten in the face by the virus, which is usually found in the South. Bugs, called triatomines, can spread Chagas disease, which can be dangerous but difficult to contract.

According to the CDC, the disease spreads when the bug is "nesting on or near a person who feeds on his blood, usually when it sleeps".

The disease spreads "when the poo is accidentally rubbed into the bitten wound or into a mucous membrane (for example, the eye or mouth), and the parasite enters the body," according to the CDC.

The CDC reported that the virus had been reported in several southern and western states, including Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada.

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The case of the Delaware girl was reported in July 2018 when the family asked health officials to identify the insect that bit him in the face, reports Today.com. The virus would have bitten while she was watching TV.

A Californian mother said she was also stung by the virus but did not even feel it. A big shock appeared on her neck one day and she thought she was stung by a spider or mosquito, according to Fox News. She only realized later that the deadly virus had bitten her. She went to take tests and discovered that she had contracted Chagas.