Thu Sep 18 12:30:00 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
Experts are urging the U.S. to recognize Chagas disease, a potentially fatal parasitic infection transmitted by kissing bugs, as endemic within the country. While the World Health Organization recognizes that Chagas is present in 21 countries, the US is not on that list despite the fact that 280,000 Americans are currently infected. Without increased surveillance, prevention efforts, testing, and research funding, they say more people will suffer unnecessarily. The disease can cause serious heart and digestive problems, and while treatable with medication if caught early, it often goes undiagnosed due to a lack of awareness among doctors. Kissing bugs, found in 32 states, are spreading due to climate change. Public awareness and government campaigns like those in some Latin American countries are crucial for effective disease management. Doctors are advocating for increased surveillance, prevention, and recognition of Chagas as a public health threat in the U.S.
**News Article:**
**Chagas Disease: Experts Warn “Kissing Bug” Illness Now Endemic in U.S., Demanding Immediate Action**
**[City, State] –** Health experts are sounding the alarm about Chagas disease, a potentially deadly parasitic infection transmitted by “kissing bugs,” urging the United States to recognize the disease as endemic. A recent report published in the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal highlights the growing concern and the urgent need for increased surveillance, prevention efforts, testing, and research funding.
“We’ve been waiting forever for people to recognize this disease is in our communities,” said Dr. Norman Beatty, a clinical associate professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
Chagas disease, a neglected tropical illness, is spread when infected kissing bugs bite humans, typically at night. The parasite, *Trypanosoma cruzi*, is transmitted through the bug’s feces, often entering the body when the person rubs their eyes, nose, or mouth. While early symptoms can include fever and body aches, up to 30% of infected individuals develop serious long-term complications, including heart failure and stroke.
According to the CDC, roughly 280,000 people in the U.S. currently have Chagas disease. Kissing bugs have been identified in 32 states, with the disease spreading due to climate change. Infected mammals, including opossums and raccoons, have been found in 17 states, further increasing the risk of transmission.
“Recognition that it is an endemic disease in the United States is a game-changer, at least in terms of the public policy possibilities and the awareness that is required to properly address this complicated issue,” said Dr. Mario J. Grijalva, director of the Infectious and Tropical Disease Institute at Ohio University.
Experts are advocating for measures such as enhanced surveillance, similar to mosquito control programs, and increased awareness among healthcare providers to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment. The drugs benznidazole and nifurtimox can cure the disease if administered early.
“We have mosquito control programs around the country, but we’re essentially doing nothing about kissing bugs,” Dr. Beatty pointed out.
The report’s authors hope that increased attention to Chagas will finally lead to the necessary resources to combat this silent killer, ensuring that more Americans receive timely diagnosis and treatment.
First Piper 