Two experts on kissing bugs and the illness they can potentially carry, Chagas disease, are available to discuss the spread of the insects through North America and concerns of the disease transmitting to humans.
Pablo Sobrado, an associate professor of biochemistry in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has done extensive research on the transmission of Chagas disease and is working on developing drugs to fight it.
Eric Day is the manager of the Virginia Tech Insect Identification Lab who examines the migration of bugs in Virginia and North America.
While kissing bugs are being found in the eastern United States, both experts say that there is no need for alarm. Many media outlets have been reporting on sightings of the bugs and people concerned about catching the disease, which is largely transmitted in South and Latin America.
“Although there are several species of kissing bugs in the U.S., the species that is largely associated with transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi (the parasite that causes Chagas disease) is not endemic to this area,” Sobrado said.
“While there are kissing bugs in the eastern U.S., most people are misidentifying them and confusing them with cone nose bugs or stink bugs,” said Day, who has received numerous calls from people thinking they have found a kissing bug. “Just because it looks big and evil doesn’t mean it is a kissing bug. There is not an outbreak of kissing bugs nor are there more then normal this year."
The species of cone nose bugs that occur in Virginia do not defecate when feeding. Since the feces must be rubbed in the wound to transmit the disease, they cannot transmit Chagas Disease. In addition, a bite from an infected kissing bug will not result in transmission of the disease.
For more information contact:
Pablo Sorbrado[email protected]
Eric Day[email protected]540-231-4899
Zeke Barlow[email protected]540-231-5417
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