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Despite their cute consonance name, kisses are nothing to do to please. A year ago, entomologists sounded the alarm that small flat insects began to push in new habitats Beyond the south and southwest, where they are most often seen.

Unlike other propagation parasites such as spotted lantern, kisses insects are tiny blood suckers that can seriously endanger all humans, pets or animals they bite. And now researchers say that these insects - who are often carrying the potentially fatal disease of Chagas - have developed a "secure foot" in the United States

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The kisses bugs are operators known to a dangerous parasite.

Part of the reason for the concern of scientists is that biting by one of these insects can cause much more than itching or pain.

Often kiss insects beach a parasite known as Trypanosoma Cruzi , which spreads through their excrement, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If these excrement penetrates the body through the bite wound, another cut or via someone's eyes or mouth, this can lead to a very serious chronic infection known as Chagas disease.

In its first phases, infection can be difficult to identify, even in medical tests, presenting itself in the following weeks or months with light symptoms such as fever, fatigue, pain, headaches, rashes, loss of appetite and digestive problems.

It can also cause a specific reaction known as the "sign of Romaña" when it penetrates through the eyes, which is the sudden and intense swelling of the eyelid, according to the CDC.

Patients who do not receive treatment or do not lack the symptoms can then slip into the chronic phase of Chagas disease, which can last for years or indefinitely. About 20 to 30 percent of infected people can develop more serious digestive problems, such as esophagus or expanded colon (complicating to eat or go to the toilet). In the worst cases, they can also develop serious heart problems, including an extended heart, a modified heart rate, heart failure and even sudden death.

The infection is not propagated from one person to another such as flu or a cold, and a human cannot recover it in occasional contact with animals bearing the parasite. However, the CDC warns that mothers can sometimes pass without knowing it T. Cruzi To their children while breastfeeding if the blood of a crack or a cut on the nipple contaminates breast milk.

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Scientists say that Chagas is a persistent problem in the United States.

Although the disease is the most frequent in Central and South America, the infection is not entirely rare in the United States. It is believed that around 280,000 people living in the United States have a Chagas disease, which is often not diagnosed due to difficulty detecting it in blood tests or a lack of persistent symptoms.

But now, a team of researchers warns that the bugs carrying parasites become so common in certain places that it is time to start taking prevention tactics more seriously.

The new data come from a 10 -year -old joint study Led by scientists from the University of Florida and Texas A&M University, published on July 7 The Public Science Library has neglected tropical diseases . In this document, the team collected more than 300 kissing bugs from 23 counties in Florida, more than 30% of which were found in the houses.

The results showed that 30% of the insects they have collected (in about half of the counties overall) were carriers to T. Cruzi . After analyzing their stomachs, they also found that the majority of insects found in houses fed on human blood, while insects found outside fed on animals. Researchers said it supported the theory that kisses bugs are an active and growing threat to public health.

"We have made the foundations to show that we have a vector in our state that houses a parasite, invading houses and feeding on humans and our pets", " Norman L. Beatty , MD, a study co-pritif and member of the University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute (EPI), said in a press release.

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Researchers are progressing in the parasite tests.

At the same time, there were steps forward to detect and treat the disease from the start.

In a press release on June 24, scientists from the Center for Tropical and Emerging World Diseases have announced Developed the first test Capable of determining whether the treatment of Chagas disease had been effective in infected patients.

The team explains that a robust response of the immune system made it difficult to test a patient for the parasite, existing tests sometimes producing positive and negative results of the same person due to low levels of T. Cruzi in blood circulation.

Using macaque monkeys (whose immune response to the parasite is similar to that of humans and dogs) over a 12 -month surveillance period, scientists were able to pick up T. Cruzi in the blood samples with precision. The same results were found when humans' blood samples and canines have been tested.

"This healing test changes the game for drug treatment", " White Brooke , said the main study of the study, in a press release. "We are already working with other research groups in the hope of creating a faster and cheaper method to test the charge of parasites in their drug treatment studies in macaques, dogs and humans."

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Here's how to avoid Chagas.

Although the latest study highlights the danger inherent in the spread of Chagas' disease in the United States, the team says that there are relatively simple ways to protect you.

Just as you would with any other pest, checking your home for possible entry points can be considerably useful, while making sure that you do not provide them with an environment.

"Do not keep these wooden heaps right next to your home. Do not keep them right next to where your dog sleeps, I think it's a large part of that", EPI member Samantha wisely , Said PhD, in a press release. "This is the integrated part, not only by using pesticides and insecticides.… Habitat management, as well as modify your behavior."

Another team researcher added that the new construction is encroaching on the natural habitats of insects will likely increase the probability of infection, which makes consciousness all the more essential.