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Public health officials have confirmed the presence of the "kiss virus" in Delaware for the first time in the history of the state.
L & # 39; insecte-Triatoma Sanguisuga– is a blood sucking creature that feeds on animals and humans, and has a peculiar fondness for biting faces. Although the bites themselves are not necessarily dangerous, insects can transmit a parasite that causes Chagas disease, a potentially serious disease.
According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a family from Kent County, Delaware, contacted local health authorities in July 2018 after an insect bit his child's face. while she was watching TV.
The family told the authorities that they lived near a heavily forested area and had not traveled recently outside the area.
Preliminary investigations conducted by the Delaware Public Health Division revealed that the insect was a kissing stink bug. Photographs were then sent to the Texas A & M University's Kissing Bug Citizen Science program, which documents insects across the country, before the creature is finally confirmed. Triatoma Sanguisuga by the CDC via the analysis of the shape of his body.
The insect tests detected a meal of human blood, but were negative for the parasite. Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disease. Fortunately, the girl did not get sick after the bite.
This is the first confirmed identification of the kiss virus in Delaware. Earlier, Texas A & M had received information about an alleged kissing virus in July 2017. The virus was found dead and no one reported being bitten.
While the university has identified the creature as T. sanguisuga On the basis of photographic evidence, a local institution initially concluded that it was a milkweed virus after a physical examination. The specimen was destroyed before Texas A & M received the photos, which means that no definitive identification was made.
The parasite that bed bugs embrace is sometimes responsible for Chagas disease, which can lead to serious heart and gastrointestinal complications. According to the Mayo Clinic, the disease can cause sudden, brief (acute) illness or progress to long-term (chronic) illness. Symptoms range from mild to severe, although many people feel nothing until the chronic stage.
Symptoms of the acute phase, which can last for weeks or months, may include: fever, swelling at the site of infection, fatigue, rash, body aches, swelling of the eyelids, swelling of the eyelids, headache, loss Appetite, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, swollen glands and enlarged liver or spleen.
If the patient does not receive any treatment, the disease may progress to a chronic phase, with symptoms not likely until 10 or 20 years after infection. In severe cases, these symptoms may include: irregular heartbeat, congestive heart failure, sudden cardiac arrest, difficulty swallowing due to increased abdominal and esophageal pain, and constipation due to enlarged bowel .
According to the CDC, about 300,000 people have Chagas disease in the United States, most of whom have been infected with the parasite in rural areas of Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Although insects are found in the United States, there have been only a handful of confirmed cases in which individuals contracted Chagas disease after being exposed to the insect inside the country. In addition, it is important to note that, although bugs have been kissing in Delaware, there is currently no evidence of the parasite. Trypanosoma cruzi in the state.
"Even where T. cruzi circulates, all the bugs of the triatomine are not infected by the parasite ", reads in the report of the CDC. "The probability of the man T. cruzi In the United States, the number of cases of infection by contact with a triatomine virus is low even when the virus is infected. "
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