With Ebola now a back page news item, a new boogeyman pathogen is quickly taking center stage. So-called “kissing bug disease” is the latest mainstream media scare that reports claim is already inside the bodies of 300,000 Americans. The strange condition, which is already being dubbed “the new AIDS,” supposedly doesn’t show symptoms initially. But once they emerge, the disease, also known as Chagas’ disease, can quickly turn fatal much in the same way as AIDS.
The Daily Mail Online says kissing bug disease is technically a parasite, and many doctors aren’t even aware that it exists. Researchers say it can be cured if detected early, but because of the nature of its symptoms, this is often difficult. At a recent gathering of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in New Orleans, experts explained how Chagas is spread by kissing bugs. The parasite itself, known as Trypanosoma cruzi, is spread through the feces of bugs, and can lead to fever, fatigue, body aches, rashes, diarrhea and vomiting. FULL REPORT
