Chagas disease — the potentially serious illness spread by “kissing bugs” — is now being described as endemic in the United States by researchers publishing in the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, a shift that underscores growing evidence of local transmission in the South and raises fresh questions about Florida’s preparedness.
What’s new
- A peer-reviewed overview in a CDC journal argues the U.S. should be treated as Chagas-endemic, citing locally acquired human infections confirmed in eight states (including Texas, Arizona and California) and the widespread presence of the insect vectors across 32 states. The paper estimates roughly 280,000 people in the U.S. are living with the infection.
- National outlets reported the shift last week, with researchers and clinicians calling for routine screening of at-risk patients and better physician education so cases aren’t missed until heart or digestive complications appear years later.
Florida snapshot
Florida has the bugs, the parasite, and animal reservoirs — and an estimated ~18,000 residents living with chronic Chagas — but no confirmed locally acquired human cases have been documented in the state to date, recent field research notes.
- A decade-long UF/Texas A&M study collected Triatoma sanguisuga (the most common Florida “kissing bug”) from 23 counties, found ~30–35% infected with the Chagas parasite (Trypanosoma cruzi), and detected human blood meals in ~23% of examined bugs — evidence of close contact with people and a credible pathway for transmission.
- UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute says the ingredients for local spread — infected bugs, infected wildlife (like raccoons and opossums), and frequent human/animal contact — are “all present” in Florida.
- Despite that, Chagas is not a reportable disease in Florida, so the state does not systematically track cases — a gap researchers say hampers surveillance and awareness.
Florida’s Department of Health acknowledges infected bugs and animal reservoirs in the state but has historically assessed the risk of local human transmission as low — a stance now being revisited by scientists as new data accumulates.