Being kissed gently in your sleep sounds romantic.
But if what "kisses" you is an insect called "kissing bug", then what awaits you may be decades of pain or even death.
Just this September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an urgent warning that the "silent killer" behind this gentle name is quietly spreading in the United States.
32 states in the United States fell, Texas became the hardest hit area
The insect, known as the kissing insect, has been identified in 32 U.S. states, with the highest number of cases in Texas.
In a recent report, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control acknowledged that the Chicago disease spread by “kissing insects” should be considered a local epidemic in the United States.
Speaking of it, this nickname is indeed very confusing, why is it called "kissing insects"? originally because of this insect specifically bites people's face, like to look for the skin thinner areas of the lower mouth, such as the lips, eyelids, etc., think of feeling panicked, when sleeping, this little thing quietly climbed to your face "kissing".
More disgusting is the way they spread, kissing insects often bite and discharge when people sleep, people will mistakenly bring the parasite's feces into the eye and nose mouth and other parts of the infection.
That is, not being bitten is done, but these insects will pull shit on your face, and then as soon as you chew, chew your eyes, the disease goes in.
The most cunning place for Chagas disease is that the early symptoms are especially easy to ignore, and the early symptoms include fever, heartburn, headache, rashes, vomiting and fatigue, which can last for weeks or even months, which is not a common cold fever, who would think about this strange disease?
But what is really scary is the follow-up development. About 20% to 30% of infected people may develop serious health problems, such as heart failure, stroke or even death, and this process may take several years or even more than ten years. When you find out, it is often too late.
Once infected with the Chagas disease, you will carry this parasite for a lifetime, and think of it as a scabies, these little things will hide in your body for a dozen or twenty years, and then suddenly explode to attack your heart.
Although early discoveries can be treated with drugs, the majority of patients do not know that they are infected with the disease, many doctors do not think of the relevant testing, and in the United States of 280,000 infected people, how many people know their real situation, this number may not be very optimistic.
Climate warming fuels the flames, and bugs expand northward
Originally, kissing insects were mainly active in the warm states of the southern United States, but now the situation has changed. Due to climate change, they may spread further north.
What does that mean? the problem that had only Southerners to worry about could now become a threat to the entire United States, and climate warming has not only brought extreme weather, but even these pests have begun to “draw north.”
What is even more worrying is that Chagas disease is one of the main causes of heart disease in Latin America, even more harmful than malaria and Zika virus. In 21 other countries in the Americas, this disease is already an endemic epidemic, and the United States is now going to join this "club".
Someone might ask, is China safe?
The answer is: it is necessary to be vigilant, but not to panic, in China's southern region there is also the distribution of uranium, mainly red-band uranium, distributed in Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian and other places, since 2016, China's disease control center has begun to monitor uranium in the south, and in Guangdong Foshan Shand for the first time recorded red-band uranium.
However, there are currently no domestic cases of the disease in China, and our risks are mainly due to two aspects: first, inbound cases, such as those returning from the Americas; and second, if there are really inbound cases, local uranium may become the medium of transmission.
China CDC is also taking active actions. They are not only monitoring the situation of local triatominogs, but also studying whether these insects carry pathogens. This practice of early layout reflects the wisdom of "nip in the bud before they happen".
Personal protection is important in the details.
How to prevent for ordinary people?
Friends who travel or work in the Americas should pay special attention, try to choose accommodation places with good conditions, use mosquito nets when sleeping, wear long-sleeved trousers and use insect repellents when in the wild.
If you are really bitten by a similar insect, do not rub the biting area with your hands, rinse it with clean water in a timely manner, appear unknown causes of fever, body acidity and other symptoms, especially with a history of travel to the Americas, to go to the doctor in a timely manner and actively inform the doctor.
At home, to maintain environmental hygiene, regularly clean the weeds around the house, reduce the place where the insects habitate, if suspicious insects are found, you can take a photo to report to the disease control department.
conclusion
Although "kissing bug disease" sounds terrible, as long as we are vigilant and protected, the risk is completely controllable.
China's monitoring system and prevention and control measures are relatively perfect, and there are still no cases of local infections, but with the deepening of globalization, any infectious disease may cross national borders, and keeping alert and scientific prevention is the best way to respond.
The source:
News 2025-9-18 “Kissing worm disease” once known as “America’s New AIDS” spreads in the United States
Guangming.com 2025-09-18 An epidemic of "kissing insect disease" broke out in the United States. The insect was found in 32 states with super fatal symptoms