Indiana Warned: Beware Of This Tiny Bug Spreading A Deadly Disease

As the summer season winds down in Indiana, some residents welcome the cooler months and being outdoors for fun fall activities. The cooler weather also provides relief from pests like mosquitoes that seem to invade our summer activities. However, officials are now urging residents to be aware of a dangerous insect native to Indiana that is now spreading a deadly disease.

Indiana Warning: Deadly Disease Now Spreading From "Kissing Bugs"

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),  the Triatominae, or ‘kissing bug,’ is spreading a deadly disease that has a high enough presence in the U.S. to be considered endemic, a regularly occurring disease.

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According to the report:

“Invasion into homes, human bites, subsequent allergic reactions or exposure to T. cruzi parasites, and increasing frequency of canine diagnoses have led to growing public awareness.”

According to the CDC, kissing bugs become infected by biting and sucking blood from infected animals or people. Chagas’s disease is often contracted through bug bites on an individual’s face. After biting, bugs pass the T. cruzi parasite in their droppings. If these droppings get into someone's body through a cut in the skin, or near the eyes or mouth, it can lead to infection. Symptoms include:

• Fever
• Feeling tired
• Body aches
• Headache
• Rash
• Loss of appetite
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting

Triatomine bugs can live both indoors and outdoors. When indoors, they might be found in cracks and holes of poorly constructed houses. Outdoors, they can live in rock, wood, brush piles, or beneath bark or in outdoor kennels. The insects have been spotted in Indiana over the past decade; however, there are no reports of Chagas disease in the state.