Zika virus may be the tropical disease on everyone's mind at the moment, but residents of Texas have another emerging infection to worry about — Chagas disease.
According to a Houston Chronicle report authored by Jennifer Herricks, PhD, of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, research shows more than 50 percent of Texas triatomine bugs, also known as kissing bugs, are infected with the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, which causes Chagas disease.
"And the threat may be growing. Increasingly, a variety of animals, including dogs, have tested positive for Chagas disease in Texas," wrote Dr. Herricks. "Although not a direct threat to people, these infected animals can serve as reservoirs of the disease: Uninfected kissing bugs can pick up the parasite from a dog or small rodent, then spread it to a human."
Texans who enjoy hunting are at an increased risk of contracting the disease given the time they spend in areas overrun by these bugs, according to the Chronicle.
Typically associated with Central and South America, Chagas disease typically presents in two phases. During the first phase, symptoms tend to be mild or totally absent. During the chronic phase, the parasites can cause cardiac disorders and digestive, neurological or mixed systems, according to the World Health Organization.
To improve the lives of those with Chagas, and prevent new cases from occurring, Dr. Herricks called for more awareness campaigns, diagnostic and treatment research, vaccine development to prevent transmission, surveillance efforts and kissing bug control programs.
More articles on emerging infections:
5 things to know about Zika
US becoming more susceptible to tropical diseases: 5 things to know
WHO publishes list of emerging diseases likely to cause major epidemics