"A kiss" bites the Delaware girl in the first confirmed case of the state, health officials said



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An insect called "kissing bug" has bitten a girl in Delaware in the first confirmed case of the state, public health officials said last week.

On April 19, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said that the child had been bitten in the face in July 2018 while she was watching television in her room. The family lived in an old house near a heavily wooded area and had not traveled outside the area.

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The insect has been identified as Triatoma sanguisuga, an insect that may be carrying a deadly disease called Chagas, the agency said. Leeches spread the disease by biting human beings, usually in the face, then defecating near the wound.

The disease can cause life-threatening heart conditions, including heart disease, stroke, arrhythmias and cardiac arrest. Although the girl did not get sick, the incident marks the first confirmed case of kissing virus in Delaware, said the CDC.

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But not all insects that kiss each other carry the disease. The agency said the likelihood of a human contracting Chagas in the United States is low, even if the virus is infected.

This bug, commonly known as triatomine, spreads Chagas, a disease of Latin American origin.

This bug, commonly known as triatomine, spreads Chagas, a disease of Latin American origin.
(Reuters)

Chagas disease, which has spread to the United States, was previously only found in Central America and South America and Mexico. Approximately 300,000 people in the United States have the disease.

The insects are also found in the United States, with the highest concentration found in the southern half of the country, according to the CDC.

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Doctors can detect the disease by a simple blood test. If the infection is detected early enough, the drugs should be able to treat it.

"If it's not treated, the infection lasts a lifetime and can be life-threatening," warns the CDC.

Jennifer Earl of Fox News contributed to this report.

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