What’s Really Going On With The Kissing Bug?

Triatomine bug also known to us as the kissing bug has been all over news lately. What is the truth behind their deadly bites?

Kissing bug is nocturnal and about an inch long and feeds on mammal’s blood.
They specially like to bite around lips and faces of people.
Bites are deadly only if it is infected with the parasite trypanosoma cruzi defecate and the fecal matter infects the bite. This infection is called Chagas disease.

According to Sarah Hamer who is assistant professor of epidemiology at Texas A&M’s veterinary and biomedical school:

“It’s great we are heightening our awareness but we don’t need to be terribly scared.”

She also says that it is rare for kissing bugs to feed on people. The studies have also found that there is only about one case Chagas for every 900-4,000 contacts with infected kissing bugs.