Bitten By Blood Suctioners, 280 Thousand US Citizens Get Chagas Disease

Illustration of blood-eating insects or Kissing Bugs. (Pexels/Michal Petras)

JAKARTA - Chagas disease is currently spreading in the United States (US), according to a report by the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Chagas is an infectious disease caused by an infection of an infected triatomicine parasitic or kissing bug, a type of blood-eating insect that is likely to become endemic in the US.

In a report published last month for the September issue of the CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases, the author said that the disease is endemic in 21 countries in the US. The growing parasitic evidence challenges non-endemic labels in the US.

Autocton cases (or local transmission) in humans have been reported in 8 states, especially in Texas. US labeling as a non-endemic of Chagas disease exacerbated awareness and lack of reporting," the report notes, quoted by CBS News, on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

Other states with human cases include California, Arizona, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The report notes that data is still inadequate whether bug kissing insects are really expanding geographically or the number is growing.

However, it is also mentioned that these insects are now increasingly known because they often interact with humans and the increasing attention of research.

Meanwhile, according to UCLA Health, the nickname kissing bug appears because the insect often bites humans in the facial area. The CDC estimates that around 8 million people in the world and 280 thousand people in the US suffer from chagas disease and often without realizing it.

People may scratch or rub insect droppings into their bite wounds, eyes, or mouths without realizing them, which allows parasites to enter their bodies, the CDC explains.

The CDC also explained the process of transmitting infections from kissing bugs that caused Chagas disease. It is stated that if it is not treated immediately, then the disease can be fatal.

If this dirt enters a person's body through wounds on the skin, or near the eyes or mouth, it can cause infection. Without treatment, these conditions can be life-threatening, "concluded the CDC.