According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 6-7 million people in the world are infected with Chagas Disease, a possibly fatal disease spread by the bite of a bug with the cute name of the “Kissing Bug”. Most of these people live in Latin America, usually in areas up to 1,600 meters above sea level, and Costa Rica has thousands of infected individuals, many of whom are completely unaware that they have been infected.

In Costa Rica, the Kissing Bug is called a chinche. They are often found in poor neighborhoods, in damp spaces, woodpiles, and near livestock or pets. They are called Kissing Bugs because they like to bite people near their eyes or mouth. But wait, it gets grosser. After biting you, the chinche likes to defecate in our near the wound, thereby depositing the dangerous T. cruzi parasite, which makes its way into your body to burrow into your cells. There, they grow and multiply, leaving you with what’s known as Chagas Disease, a potentially fatal disease which severely damages heart tissue, and other organs.

Individuals who have been kissed by this bug may not notice symptoms for decades, but between 20-30 percent of infected people end up developing major medical problems from Chagas, and if they are not treated early, the treatment will not work at all.
Chagas Disease damages heart tissue, resulting in: Abnormal heart rhythm, which can result in sudden death, and Floppy Heart Condition, where the heart cannot adequately pump blood, resulting in heart failure. Chagas has also been known to damage the esophagus or intestines.

The most common symptoms of Chagas Disease are: Conjunctivitis, fever, poor appetite, sore throat, purplish swelling of the eyelid, headache, muscle pain, and difficulty breathing, There is no vaccine yet against Chagas, but it is curable if caught and treated soon after infection.

The key to surviving Chagas Disease is recognizing the infection early, and getting the correct anti-parasite medications, usually benznidazole or nifurtimox. Once Chagas reaches the chronic stage, medications will not work. If you think you have been bitten by a Kissing Bug, or a Triatomine bug in scientific terms, go see your doctor to have your blood tested.

Chagas was named after the Brazilian doctor Carlos Chagas, who discovered the disease in 1909. Many historians believe that Charles Darwin might have suffered from the disease, based on his descriptions of his ailments while in the field doing research. Darwin died of heart failure.

A recent study published by The Lancet Infectious Diseases, found that currently infected individuals around the world could end up costing over $24.7 billion in healthcare costs.
Costa Rica would be wise to initiate a training program for doctors to help recognize and treat Chagas Disease in individuals, before it becomes untreatable, or contaminates Tico blood banks.