DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — The Center for Disease Control and Prevention warns Floridians about the potential deadly Chagas Disease from the kissing bug.
The bugs have invaded the southern United States, including Florida.
A doctor at Mayo Clinic said she's treated patients for Chagas Disease before, but they've always come from other countries.
Dr. Vandana Bhide said people need to watch for symptoms now that it's here in the United States.
The infected inch long Triatomine bugs carrying the parasite can pass it through bites. The bites are typically around the mouth and face, which is how they get their nickname 'kissing bugs.'
According to the CDC, it estimates about 8 million people are infected worldwide. Most of the infected are reportedly in Central and South America.
Not all of the bugs carry the deadly disease. According to the CDC, the bugs, which can carry the T. cruzi parasite, defecate after feeding.
An infected bug then can pass the parasite, which causes Chagas disease, to a victim if the person "accidentally scratch(es) or rub(s) the feces into the bite wound, eyes or mouth."
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Dr. Bhide said getting the disease is actually not as easy as you may think. But said the medical community is concerned that the disease is confirmed to be in the United States and that the symptoms are common of other diseases.
"The first phase is pretty non-specific, people can have fatigue, they can have fever they can have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, (and) they may have a rash," Bhide said. "So it’s not really clear what they have. They may just have a viral infection and they will often get better from that."
For more information, read more from the CDC here or here.
WJAX
