Reports of a potentially disease-carrying bug are spreading across the country

Thursday, June 20, 2019 at 10:25 AM

By The Center for Disease Control and Protection

Known as the deadly “kissing bugs.”

Reports of a potentially disease-carrying bug are spreading across the country.

The Center for Disease Control and Protection recently issued a warning about triatomine bugs, better known as deadly “kissing bugs.”

They’ve been spotted in 12 different states, including Indiana.

They’re known to crawl around the mouth and eyes, biting people while they sleep.

They can also transmit a disease called “chagas.” Some of the symptoms of chagas are fever, fatigue, swelling, and a rash, but it can be more serious causing strokes or even heart failure. Over time, it can cause nerve damage.

Your pets aren’t safe from the triatomine either, as Chagas can give them heart disease.

But the bug has to bite a person or animal already infected with chagas to share it, and officials say Indiana has never reported a case of the disease.