COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new article from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling attention to an emerging infectious disease. Chagas disease, a potentially life-threatening condition, is primarily spread by infected triatomine insects commonly called “kissing bugs.”
Entomologists with The Ohio State University say kissing bugs have been in Ohio for decades, but they are rare in the state. There are no known cases of kissing bugs in Ohio carrying the parasite causing Chagas disease.
“They’re called kissing bugs because they will come and try to bite near your lips while you’re sleeping, and the bite itself has anticoagulants to help keep your blood flowing as well as anesthetics so that you don’t feel the bite and you keep sleeping,” said Megan Meuti, an associate professor in Ohio State’s Department of Entomology…