Bugs that come out at night can seriously hurt people or give them a sickness that lasts forever

When Emiliana Rodríguez was little, she saw a friend suddenly die while playing soccer at night. She later learned this was because of Chagas, a dangerous disease spread by nighttime bugs. This illness affects up to 8 million people every year, and sadly, 12,000 of them don’t survive. Chagas is often called a “silent killer” because many people don’t know about it.

When she was 15, Emiliana Rodríguez moved from Bolivia to Barcelona. Even after her move, she was haunted by the fear of Chagas, a disease she describes as a “monster.” Years later, while expecting her first child, Emiliana discovered she had Chagas. She was terrified, remembering stories of people dying suddenly and the loss of her friend. She worried, “What’s going to happen to my baby?”

Emiliana got treatment to protect her baby from Chagas. Luckily, when her daughter was born, tests showed she didn’t have the disease. On the other hand, in Mexico, a young girl named Idalia was surprised to learn she had Chagas. She only found out when she gave blood near her home in Veracruz. Chagas is spread by bugs called triatomine, often known as kissing or vampire bugs.

Wikipedia Commons / Bärbel Stock

Idalia was shocked when she learned she had Chagas, a disease she’d never heard of before. After researching, she found out it’s called a “silent killer” and felt lost and scared. Many people don’t know about Chagas, even though it’s spread by common pests. The disease is named after Carlos Chagas, a Brazilian doctor who discovered it in 1909. Today, it’s found in places like Latin America, North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia.

Kissing bugs, which often hide in the walls of homes in poorer areas, are most active at night. They can spread the Chagas disease when they bite someone and then leave feces on the skin. If someone scratches the bite or gets the feces in their eyes or mouth, they can get infected. The CDC says around 8 million people in places like Mexico and South America have Chagas, but many don’t know they’re infected. The World Health Organization reports a similar number worldwide. If not treated, Chagas can be deadly, killing about 12,000 people yearly. In fact, in Latin America, Chagas kills more people than any other disease spread by parasites, even more than malaria.

Kissing bugs have been found in the U.S., with about 300,000 people infected. However, the U.S. doesn’t view it as a common problem. While some people never show signs of the disease, the CDC says that 20 to 30% might face heart issues that can be deadly or stomach problems that are really uncomfortable, years after being infected. Worldwide, only 10% of Chagas cases are actually detected, which makes it hard to treat and stop the disease from spreading.