A doctor with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that people probably should not worry about reports of bites from “kissing bugs.”
There have been reports saying that the bugs, known to carry a parasite that can cause Chagas disease, are in Georgia and other southern U.S. states. However, the bugs have had a presence in the U.S. since the 19th century.
However, if you see kissing bugs, known as triatomine bugs, don’t touch or squash it, but place a container on top of it and bring it to a local expert, the CDC recommends.
The CDC estimates that some 300,000 people with Chagas disease live in the U.S.
According to the CDC, this is where kissing bugs are found:
“Triatomine bugs (also called reduviid bugs, ‘kissing’ bugs, assassin bugs, cone-nosed bugs, and blood suckers) can live indoors, in cracks and holes of substandard housing, or in a variety of outdoor settings including:
- Beneath porches
- Between rocky structures
- Under cement
- In rock, wood, brush piles, or beneath bark
- In rodent nests or animal burrows
- In outdoor dog houses or kennels
- In chicken coops or houses
They are typically found in the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America (as far south as southern Argentina). The map below details triatomine occurrence by U.S. state.”
