Bed Bugs Won’t Give You Chagas Disease (probably) | WIRED

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Slide: 1 / of 3 .

Caption: CDC

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Caption: A Kissing Bug (Triatoma sanguisuga) , a larger cousin of the Bed Bug. CDC/James Gathany

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Caption: Note the posture of the feeding bed bugs. Even though they have access to a hand, the bugs are basically standing on the paper and extending their proboscis to push their beak into the skin. Lou Sorkin, NHM

Nobody likes bed bugs, but one thing we could always say was at least they donttransmit any human diseases! Thats still true, althoughsome research published this week is causing some concern.

A new paper in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene reportedthat bed bugs mightbe able to host and transmit Chagas Disease, a chronicheart disease caused by the blood parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. That sounds scary, but the experts I talked to all agree no one should panic.

A lot of alarmingthingscan be found inbed bugs; over 45different potential human disease agentsare known, including bacteria, viruses (Hepatitis B), worms, and protozoans (like the trypanosomes in the new paper). So far, none of themare transmitted to humans bybed bugs. This new research doesnt change that.

Heres a run-down of the new research, and what you need to know.

Originally posted here:
Bed Bugs Won't Give You Chagas Disease (probably) | WIRED

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